Impulse and Inertia: First Step
by LilyRosetheDreamer
Summary: Two young speedsters seperated by rivalry and hate are brought together by something traumatic. Can Inertia be there for Impulse in his hour of need?  AU
1. Beginning of Something

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

This is a little series I've created seeing as though there is so little written about the pair. Here's chapter one.

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**Beginning of Something.**

Pounding of footsteps echoed as something blasted down the street. Behind it came another, slightly heavier being, both of them in league with one another. They were looking for one thing. Something misguided. Someone who wanted to kill only one.

"Youngster, stop a second."

The first blueish blur halted instantly, revealing the identity of Max Mercury a.k.a Max Crandall, a stern yet kindly man with white hair and a cerulean and silver spandex outfit with matching cap. It all fit snugly to his body, perfect for reducing friction.

The second smaller blur zipped back to his mentor.

"Yes Max?"

This young boy dressed in crimson and snow spandex with yellow and red goggles was Impulse, the fastest boy alive; or Bart Allen, the grandson of the legendary Barry Allen who had been the Flash. With floppy russet brown hair and molten gold eyes, the boy was the picture of innocence. And in most ways, he was.

Max eyed his ward carefully.

"Remember who we're facing. Inertia is highly dangerous and he hates you. Hate can do terrible things, so be careful yes?"

Impulse nodded quickly.

"Okay!" he chirruped before he was gone again. Max was willing to bet any money he had that Bart hadn't listened to a word he'd just said. It was a good job he was around. Sighing, he sped off after him. As they both ran and ran, they were unaware of a figure clad in green and jet-black, smirking in the shadows, that kept pace with both.

"You're mine Impulse."

And so saying, the figure darted out of the dark alleyway and started racing in front of the two heroes, grabbing their attention.

"Max, it's him!" Impulse cried out as he put on more speed, catching up to Inertia, who glanced behind with another smirk.

"Too slow idiot."

Impulse shook his head violently.

"Am not!"

The two boys were now neck and neck, Impulse being oblivious of Max's shouts to come back.

"Ready for defeat, clone?" Inertia taunted him, strands of blonde hair waving in the violent breeze.

"Not yet." Impulse smiled cheekily, making the first move. He lashed out and hit Inertia full on in the face, causing a red mark to appear like a red beacon of light on white paper.

Inertia snarled.

"You'll regret that faker."

As Max started to catch up, he saw Inertia strike out and Impulse blocking the attack, only to be punched forcefully in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the concrete below.

"Impulse!"

The boy stood shakily and spat out some blood.

"Ow, that actually hurt for once." He teased, wiping his mouth clean of crimson blood with the back of his gloved hand. Inertia gave no retort as he sprang like a cornered cobra, only to meet thin air, followed by a visit from Impulse's foot connecting with his back. Inertia twisted and clapped the offending limb in between his hands. A split second later and Impulse flew over his shoulder towards the wall. The shock lasted for a good moment before Impulse regained his senses in time to vibrate his molecules through the sturdy brown brick and concrete. Max stopped in front of Inertia suddenly and held out a hand palm outwards.

"Enough Inertia."

Inertia just glared balefully at him and leapt out harm's way as Impulse came homing in for a counter-attack.

"Boys, ENOUGH!" Max shouted louder and grabbed the two teens out of midair. Inertia and Impulse were still straining to get at each other.

"Nngh, put me down old fool!" Inertia snapped. "Or I'll make you."

"No! You won't hurt Max!" Impulse cried, struggling harder. Max sighed.

"I won't be putting anyone down. This fighting has gone far enough. Why can't it end Thaddeus?" He spoke gently to the yellow-haired boy, who had gone limp in his grip. There was no response and seeing this, Impulse stopped fighting for a foothold as well.

"Inertia?"

Hearing the concern in Impulse's voice pushed Inertia's rage further still. With a sudden movement, Inertia fought his way free and leapt clear, thoughts of revenge and spilling young blood still tangible.

"Get away from me old man!" Eyes full of hatred stared out from acid green and yellow goggles. "I never wanted you near me! You keep making my life miserable and you have to die!" Directing this outburst at Impulse, Inertia attacked again, ripping Impulse out of his mentor's grip. Impulse kicked out hard and hit Inertia's stomach. Inertia doubled up and Impulse took the opportunity to wriggle his way free before speeding round and round Inertia, whipping up a tornado the size of a big truck. Inertia zipped out, managing to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground before being slammed from the side. Sending a stinging slap to Impulse's face, Inertia used that low tactic to recover and flee the scene by running up the side of one of the many buildings in the area and leaping nimbly like a domestic cat from one dull grey concrete slab to another. Impulse furiously gave chase, losing Max in the process as the elder speedster lost sight of the boy he was supposed to be looking after.

"Damn."

Impulse was unaware of this however as he caught up easily to his 'evil twin'.

"You're persistent aren't you?" Inertia muttered in irritation and performed a flying kick, which Impulse blocked immediately. As they continued to fight, neither realised that Impulse was being backed further towards the edge, the fighting was THAT intense. At the last moment, Inertia smirked as he realised the advantage of his position. Feinting with a scissor kick, Inertia met Impulse's chest with his green clad fist with a crashing ferocity.

Impulse squeaked in fear as he toppled off the edge of the apartment building. It was a 100ft drop and Impulse couldn't fly.

"IMPULSE!" Max hollered, icy-cold fear gripping his old heart, watching the thin boy fighting for a grip as he swung helplessly from the building.

Inertia towered over the terrified boy, leaning down far enough to whisper in Impulse's ear.

"Now you die."

Impulse's golden eyes widened in terror behind the goggles.

And as fast as lighting, he scrambled back up to safety, knocking Inertia away.

Inertia spat at the speedster, eyes narrowed.

"I'm fed up with this. But you haven't seen the back of me just yet."

And having said all he wanted to, Thaddeus Thawne fled. Impulse sank to his knees in exhaustion as Max shot to his side.

"Bart Allen, you could have been killed!"

Bart raised his youthful face. "Yeah, I suppose."

Max resisted the urge to face-palm.

"We're going home."

"I can't."

Max stared at him, surprised. "Why?"

"Because I have…something to do."

"It'd better not be the arcade AGAIN." Max rolled his eyes.

"No." Was the simple reply as Impulse whizzed away. Max was left standing in the dust as it settled gently, utterly perplexed.

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There you go! You like? It could very well be the beginning of something. Lol. Please review. If you do, Batman will sing to you.

Batman: "No I won't."

Yes you will. *slaps him upside the head*


	2. Movement

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Here's Chapter 2 and we have seen some intense action so far. What will happen now?

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Movement.

As Impulse jumped from one roof to another, his short attention span made his mind wander to Inertia himself. Why was he being like this? He could be on HIS side if he tried…

A twinge of pain from the increasingly throbbing headache hit his brain and Impulse brought his hand up automatically to touch his forehead with a sigh, as if he was trying to wipe away the headache that had persisted since this morning. He thought nothing of it though and shrugged it off. Golden yellow eyes, like drops of pure sunlight, roamed the landscape as he searched for the boy that was making his and Max's life difficult.

"Come on Inertia, where are you?" The young speedster muttered out loud, wondering if he'd EVER find his double. Suddenly, he caught sight of a blurred onyx and lime shape sprinting away through the clustered branches of the woodlands on the quieter outskirts of Manchester, Alabama. Picking up the pace, Bart Allen tore through after him, reaching Inertia in two seconds. He distinctively heard Inertia curse.

"Inertia, this needs to stop!"

"Why should it?! You're annoying me, you stupid little boy and I won't stop until you're eliminated!"

A flying kick was sent Impulse's way and he was forced to leap aside to avoid being hit. Retaliating with a stinging blow to Inertia's arm, Impulse remembered the wrestling video game he had been playing earlier before all of this had started and responded to another attempted attack by blocking it with a solid white arm before grabbing a leg and throwing Inertia over his shoulder. Inertia landed with a thud and rolled over, landing on his back. Leaping up, the other teen growled in annoyance and started forwards, forcing Impulse away from him.

"Fight me!" Inertia taunted. "You're barely even touching me!"

Impulse scowled and made as if to lash out at Inertia. But halfway through, something seemed to distract him as he halted and lurched away, clamping his hands to his stomach. Inertia paused too, surveying his opponent critically before his eyes widened as he witnessed Impulse throw up the contents of his digestive system. As Impulse ceased and wiped his mouth with the back of his left hand, he saw Inertia staring down at him in disbelief.

"What the hell just happened?!"

Impulse could only shrug as he stood, watching the ground spin around him while he swayed. Inertia couldn't take this in. This was his golden opportunity to seize, a chance to finally be rid of Bart Allen and to uphold the Thawne family name. And yet something inside him just refused to do it. Maybe it was honour…

Impulse coughed and brought a hand up to his forehead, seeing perspiration clinging to his fingertips as he drew it away. He'd barely even pushed himself tonight!

What was going on?

Dizziness threatened his vision, making it fray around the edges and Impulse whimpered, now truly scared.

"Max…"

Everything overwhelmed his senses and the whole world pitched. Staggering a little, Impulse took one baby step and crumpled in a heap at Inertia's feet.

Inertia stared.

Impulse had just fainted right in front of him.

Now he had two decisions. One was easy and didn't really have many consequences, unless you counted Impulse dying as a giant consequence. Which Inertia normally wouldn't. But seeing his greatest enemy lying helpless and dead to the world stirred something inside, like his stomach was plummeting out of his body…

And this led to the other, more life-changing option. To save him and take him back to his mentor Max. This hypothesis would surely have greater repercussions.

Inertia squatted on his haunches and thought.

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Max rushed through the streets, calling for his protégée. He had waited for at least five seconds before concluding that something was drastically wrong. Normally Impulse would be practically hopping around him by now, excited at the prospect of going home and reminding Max of a small russet, golden-eyed puppy. But there was only a cold wind whipping small dead shells of what had once been fresh leaves into a frenzy, making them dance in the hard grey gutters. Even the streetlamp made the inky blackness look dark and lonely in comparison to the warm, fiery-orange glow. So Max started searching,

And five minutes later, he STILL hadn't found Impulse. He was getting desperate and seriously considered contacting the Justice League (the hierarchy of all superheroes) to get in touch with Wally West, the current Flash. Maybe then they could fan out and conduct a search correctly…

A silhouette outlined by the gentle silver tendrils of the moon.

Max screeched to a standstill as the old sage considered the shape and bulk of the object. World-weary blue eyes narrowed an inch. And as the figure came closer, he could make out-

"Impulse!"

Inertia stepped carefully, almost as if he were afraid of jolting the heavily unconscious boy who lay limp in his arms. He interrupted Max's furious question as he stopped.

"Before you accuse me, I didn't do this. Feel his skin."

Max looked suspiciously at the unusually calm boy for a few moments then took off his dark blue glove and hesitantly touched Impulse's face. No sooner had his tanned hand come into contact with Impulse, it was jerked away again with a frantic hiss. The heat pouring off Impulse was immense, clogging the air closest to him and making it hard for the boy to breathe. The boy's eyes flickered uneasily underneath ashy eyelids and his goggles had been removed; they hung from Inertia's right arm.

"He's ill Max."

And in short, sharp sentences, Inertia sped through the explanation of the past five minutes.

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Yay! Another chapter completed! Poor Impulse, what will happen to him? Don't worry, you'll find out in the next chapter. PLEASE review! Or Impulse will be sad.

Impulse: *sniffles with big anime eyes*


	3. Lockdown

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 3.

Last time we looked, Impulse was critically ill. What will happen to our favourite runner?

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Lockdown.

Max's expression was grim as he stared down at Impulse as the youngster fought for breath. He seemed to be getting worse every second.

"This shouldn't be happening." Max said, breaking the uneasy silence. "His hyper metabolism should have burned the fever up before it had even become apparent."

A trace of fear flitted across Inertia's face for the first time and Max had to remind himself that Inertia was the same age as Impulse physically and mentally.

"Is he going to die?"

Inertia's voice remained calm, but Max was old enough and wise enough to detect the betrayal of his true emotions. Max couldn't help but marvel at the change of attitude.

"A few minutes ago, you were baying for his blood. Why the sudden change?"

Inertia scowled and reverted back to his sneering indifference.

"It isn't the way I wanted to defeat him. I'll help you for now. But don't expect me to stay or actually WORRY about him." He turned his head away with a snort of contempt, as if mocking the very existence of love itself.

Max smiled sadly. "When will you learn Inertia?"

He extracted Impulse from the other teenager's arms and clutched the sick boy close. Inertia frowned.

"Tell me what you mean." There was no room for opposition.

"He's cared about you from the beginning."

And leaving Inertia speechless, Max pivoted sharply and tore away back to his humble little bungalow. After a few seconds of numbing confusion, the blonde teenager fled after the old mentor. An abandoned street became all that was left, bathed in inky black and silvery moonlight, the only witness to this momentous exchange.

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Impulse lay deathly still on his quilted bed, a far cry from his normal behaviour. Helen sat worriedly beside him, playing the motherly bedside nurse. Pushing black locks out of her view, she turned sadly to her father Max, who paced frantically round the well-furnished room. He stared at the neutral cream walls, muttering swear words under his breath. Inertia (despite his words) had returned with Max and Impulse, scaring the life out of Helen when she had first opened the light oak door. His light yellow eyes followed Max round the room with suspicious respect.

"The Justice League will have to be called. We can't possibly take him to an ordinary hospital. The doctors would have a medical science field day with him." Max glared at his two companions, daring them to argue with his decision. Helen mopped Impulse's flushed face with a cold, water-soaked flannel that left rivulets of water running down his feverishly rosy skin, mingling with the sweat drops.

"I'm not going to argue against your decision Dad."

"Good. We'll be leaving in five minutes." Max stormed out.

There descended an awkward silence.

Helen replaced the third flannel with another floppy blue one and sighed.

"That's the third flannel in six minutes."

Inertia gazed at her. "I can't go."

"I'm not expecting you to. I'm sure Wally wouldn't be happy at seeing you anyway."

Inertia snorted. "Yeah, and Superman would be overjoyed at my return. I think not."

Helen gazed unseeingly at Bart for a moment before snapping back to attention.

"If that was the case, then Bart would defend you in that sort of situation."

And the sad thing was that Thaddeus Thawne knew Helen's judgement was correct.

Max scurried back in and peeled Impulse gently from his bed.

"We're going now Thad. You can come if you want to, as long you stay away from Bart, according to Batman."

Inertia had never come face to face with Bruce Wayne before.

"I'll only be too happy to keep away from him."

Max nodded tersely and together they hurried to the transport system stowed in Max's basement. It looked like an innocent photo booth but Max and Bart knew better, referring to it as an inside joke when with other company. Even Carol, whose clever mind had deduced Impulse's identity correctly, had no idea of this machine's existence. It hummed with bright flashing lights as Max and Inertia drew closer.

"Press the blue button on your left Inertia." Max stated, hopping into the platform area. He followed quickly by Inertia. Max repeated his request (obviously too used to saying things twice around Impulse and sounding like he was asking him to pass the butter. Thad grimaced and touched the pulsing blue button.

What followed next was deeply unpleasant for the boy, as it felt like he was being pulled inside out from his intestines by raw hot pliers made of needles. White flares danced in front of his eyes and he turned very slowly towards Max, prepared to force answers for his pain out of the old man. But Max either couldn't feel a thing or he had trained himself to build up immunity, for he leant against thin air, looking completely unconcerned. Impulse convulsed in his arms and the older hero frowned.

Suddenly, voices burst into existence and the three travelling companions tumbled into the wary but welcoming arms of the Justice League of America.

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The end of chapter three. How will the Justice League help Impulse? Reviews gratefully accepted.


	4. No Contact

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 4

Hi again, I've updated. Hope you like this quite a lot for it's mostly from Impulse's point of view.

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No Contact.

Wow, it was dark in here.

Impulse studied his surroundings with a weary frown. The last thing he could remember was Inertia's face swimming in and out of sight before this darkness had surrounded him. Had Inertia done this to him? Was he…dead?

Dead. He couldn't be dead!

Impulse whimpered and forced his tired body into a sitting position, drawing his knees close to his small chest and gazing around some more with wide terrified eyes made of pure gold. After a minute of observation, Impulse concluded that he couldn't be dead, otherwise he wouldn't be able to feel his body, to be able to hear his thumping heart or be able to retain his sense of touch as his trembling fingers explored the pitch black flooring underneath him.

"Where…am I?"

His teeny tiny voice echoed like a booming giant stranded in a black abyss of a cave. It was becoming quite clear to Bart Allen that he was alone. The thought terrified him and he pushed himself up, forcing himself to move forwards in an effort to discover the exit.

"Max? Inertia?!" The boy cried out, stumbling along frantically.

"…Mom?!" Impulse's voice rose to a high-pitched squeak. Then it was just a whisper; he murmured for someone else. He had spotted a figure glowing brightly.

"Dad."

Don Allen stood tall and proud in front of his shocked son, his sea coloured eyes regarding him warmly. Bart started to run headlong, his arms outstretched. He may have been only a baby when his father was murdered along with his aunt at the combined hands of his Grandfather Thawne and some sort of sick law, but he remembered and had seen enough of his photos to build a mental picture. Impulse's heart filled with joy.

"Dad!"

Don held out his arms too in a welcoming gesture and his young son almost knocked the breath out of him as he hurtled into a tight, loving embrace.

"Dad! DAD!" It sounded like Impulse was struggling not to cry.

"My boy, you've grown." His father's deep yet reassuring voice rumbled through Impulse. He held him at arm's length to inspect him. "So, you're a superhero as well? Only to be expected with an Allen!" Impulse could tell that he was proud.

"What's your codename then?"

"I-Impulse." Bart stammered, suddenly shy.

"It suits you. Even when you were a baby, you always did impulsive things. I saw Wally stop your hyper-metabolism, tell him I said thanks."

Bart nodded. "Okay. And Max is my mentor!"

"I know." laughed Don with a teasing smile. "I'm always watching over you."

"Really?!" Bart became aware of the fact that he had probably seen all of the stupid things he had done too. "You must be ashamed of me sometimes." He hung his chestnut head.

"Why would I be ashamed? You're my son!" Don Allen took Impulse's petite chin and raised it so Impulse could gaze into his sparkling eyes. They reminded his son of a tropical ocean. Don knelt down at the same time.

"We all make mistakes Bart, even me, so just be careful yeah?"

"Yeah." Impulse's golden eyes glittered.

"Your eyes are so beautiful." his father muttered and drew him close for another hug.

"We've found him!"

Both of their heads jerked towards the direction of the unearthly noise shattering the pin-drop silence and Don sprang to his feet in a flash. Grim lines spread across his face.

"I've got to get you out of here."

He grabbed his child's hand and Impulse started fearfully.

"Who are they? What's going on Dad?"

"They're the people who killed me and your aunt."

Bart's heart stopped.

"How come they're here?"

His father said nothing more, just took off with his boy struggling to keep up. It felt like they were moving sluggishly and they didn't seem to be escaping. The masked men were catching up quickly and Bart heard their guns click as they were raised to kill.

"Dad!" Bart was close to freaking out. They were moving so slowly, like they were running through wet clay. A rally of shots pierced the stifling air and peppered Don Allen's body, it being no good against biting metal.

Impulse screamed in horror.

"DAD!"

Don gripped his hand tightly as he sank to the endless floor, pulling Bart down to his knees with him.

"Promise me…you'll look after your mother."

Bart nodded dumbly, hot tears streaking down his snowy face. His dad touched his cheek gently.

"I love you son. Remember that…always."

And his heroic father died.

Bart shook him, timidly at first but getting more insistent as the monsters came closer. He cried out for his father, even going as far as to call him by name. Abruptly he became weak and disorientated, sliding to the floor – everything moved further and further away. He was now too far away to protect his dad's body and the men who acted like animals halted smugly in front of it.

"Dad. D-dad…" Impulse pulled himself towards the terrifying scene, struggling to reach his parent. He felt sick.

"Please…"

Sweat poured down his face and his vision clouded over. He was losing to his illness or whatever it was.

"No…"

A sharp pain through his head ceased his struggles and ended his world with a giant bang. He shrieked in agony as he was lost.

From the Justice League Watchtower medical bay, sounds of screaming and thrashing spread all over the tower.

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Whew! Did you all like it? Please review if you did.


	5. Reaching Out

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 5

Hello again! Here is the next chapter and we see the Justice League fighting to help Impulse. Is it an ordinary illness or are more sinister forces at work?

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Reaching Out.

Max and Inertia reached the medical bay first and Max tried to calm the thrashing speedster. Inertia watched timidly from a shadowed corner.

They had taken Impulse straight to the hospital area of the tower and J'onn J'onnz had warned them to retreat a good distance so he and Batman could work with the boy. Tests had been taken and results were being extracted but all the heroes could do was wait for the time being. Impulse had been put on antibiotics but they didn't seem to be working.

Inertia gripped something leathery in his frustration and he patted it awkwardly for a moment, confused about what he was feeling. The blonde boy turned slowly and stared up into the expressionless face of Batman himself.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were a shadow ninja." Inertia said sarcastically and backed off sharply, deciding to help Max. Impulse was still screaming, calling out for anyone he felt close to.

"Max!"

Max gritted his teeth to stop himself from answering and contented himself by shushing him gently instead. Martian Manhunter strode forward, calm as ever.

"Let me see what is troubling him."

Inertia made to hurry over, but an onyx gloved hand gripped his forest green and black arm and yanked him back.

"Unhand me!" Inertia hissed impatiently.

"I don't trust your motives." Batman replied quietly.

Superman flew into the sterile white room and pinned Bart down easily. Impulse started crying for Helen instead.

"You can see now J'onn."

"Thank you." The green alien inclined his head and placed a cold hand on Impulse's fevered brow, closing his pupil-less eyes. Impulse's struggles lessened.

Inertia glared at his captor. "Let me go!"

"Why? You have done nothing but try and kill the boy from day one. Do you…care?" Batman probed for answers.

"That has nothing to do with you! What business I have is my own!"

"Leave him alone Bruce." Wonderwoman prised his hand off Inertia. "We can question him later. Besides, he can't do anything while we're here."

Batman nodded stiffly and stalked over to the action.

"Don't worry about him dear. He does that to every person he's never met before. We worry that he and the Question are hanging around with each other too often."

Wonderwoman smiled kindly down at him and Inertia became awkward, shuffling his feet.

J'onn gasped sharply and opened his eyes, acting like he had just resurfaced from a deep underwater dive. Max paced in agitation, wearing down the neutral grey carpet.

"What is it?"

J'onn watched him carefully. "He's having a nightmare about his father's death."

Max moaned and sank on to a cracked leather couch, painted in rich cream.

"How does he even know his father at all?" Plastic Man draped his neck around J'onn like a human scarf.

"From photos most likely." Wally West spoke up from the doorway, deep sapphire eyes locked on Impulse.

J'onn smiled knowingly.

"Actually, your boy has a photographic memory, starting from his birth."

There was a stunned silence, save Impulse's tossing about.

"Wow, d'you reckon he could memorise the pizza delivery numbers for me?" Plastic Man inquired eagerly and got a wallop over the head from Superman. "Oww! Just asking!"

"If only he wasn't stupid, then he could be cleverer than me." Inertia muttered rudely and received a wallop from Flash. "Ow."

Max leaned over and brushed some stray damp hair from Impulse's cheek. Impulse murmured about his mother.

"Mom…"

"Speaking of his mother, she's been contacted." Green Lantern said cheerfully. Kyle seemed unfazed by the proceedings. "She should be here round about-"

A flash of brilliant yellow light.

"-now."

Meloni Thawne tumbled out of the vortex of teleportation energy and ran straight to her son.

"Bart! Oh, my little sunshine…" She gripped him in her arms, pressing his damp body close.

"Sunshine…" Inertia snorted, only to be shut up by a fierce glare from Bart's mother. "Sorry."

"How did this happen?" demanded Meloni while she frowned at her new surroundings.

"We're still waiting for the results." Black Canary replied almost apologetically, stepping into the room with the Green Archer.

"Well, hurry up! This is my son's LIFE on the line!" Meloni shrieked, practically losing her cool.

Impulse stirred as she placed him carefully back onto his fluffed-up white pillow.

"Grandma, Grandpa…"

"He's been doing this for a while, calling for the names of his loved ones. He even mentioned you at one point…" Flash said sadly, moving to plonk himself on a wooden chair at Bart's bedside. Meloni gasped.

"Inertia…"

Everyone stared at Impulse in complete shock. Max glanced at Inertia and witnessed the startled disbelief on his pointed face.

"Why did he say MY name?" Inertia pointed at Batman, wanting answers.

"I don't know so it's no use pointing at me." Batman replied emotionlessly.

"Because he CARES about you. It's bloody obvious mate."

Inertia spun round. Johnny Quick leant casually against the whitewashed metal doorframe with his toned arms folded and black sunglasses perched on his pale face like always.

"Hey." Flash greeted him like you would greet the morning postman.

"Knock knock, can I come in?" Johnny joked as he zoomed up to Impulse's bed. "Hey this kid looks a lot like you missus." He directed this at Meloni.

"Thanks…?"

"Don't mind him. He and the Flash are so alike; it's a wonder that they weren't separated at birth." Wonderwoman said sarcastically.

A gust of wind registered in everyone's senses as Inertia stormed out. He obviously couldn't cope with this latest information.

"Leave him mate." Johnny sighed as Batman made to go after the child.

"But-"

"Leave. It."

Batman submitted, remembering the beating that the bright yellow speedster had given him when they had first fought. A ping echoed loudly as the results of Impulse's various samples came back via hospital computer. Martian received the sample results with his usual demeanour, which suddenly turned to uncharacteristic horror. His orange eyes widened.

"No."

A hush descended.

"What is it? What's wrong with my son?" Meloni's voice rose in pitch.

"It says here that…"

Martian Manhunter surveyed the people gathered grimacing.

"He's been poisoned."

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DUN DUN DUUUN! Ooo! What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter of Impulse and Inertia. Oh and Johnny Quick from Crime Syndicate is in this because he saved the entire universe in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. That movie rocks. Oh and Meloni can speak English because she took classes when she went back home after meeting Bart for the first time. Review please!


	6. Blank Emptiness

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 6.

How will Impulse fare over the next couple of chapters? Read on and find out?

* * *

Blank Emptiness.

Flash broke the tense silence that shortly followed J'onn's words.

"But how? How could ANYONE get to the boy without US knowing about it first?"

Meloni fell over her son's prone form and sobbed. Max just stared blankly ahead.

"Someone should tell Inertia." Wonderwoman said and there were some protests.

Johnny whipped off his glasses and gave them a hard stare with deep dark brown eyes. Coupled together with a shock of flaming orange hair, he was certainly intimidating. This shut up the protestors instantly.

"I'll tell him. Maybe I can get through to him." And just like that, he was gone.

"Hope he finds him before he damages my property." Batman muttered darkly and everyone groaned at him to shut up.

Johnny sped all over the tower in search of Inertia and eventually found him sitting morosely in the meeting room, staring out of the window at the slowly rotating Earth, its luminous cerulean glow painting the whole dark room.

"Penny for your thoughts, mate?"

Inertia shrugged.

"What do I care? None of you will leave me alone anyway."

Johnny plonked himself down with a huff.

"You know, I was a 'villain' once."

Inertia blinked and locked gazes with the older, possibly Australian speedster.

"You're kidding me right? If you were a villain, you probably annoyed them into committing suicide."

Johnny chose to ignore that sarcastic barb and leaned in a little.

"Oh yeah? Why do you think Batman never tortures ME like he does with Wally?"

Inertia shrugged again. "Because if he tried to correct your mental attitude, he'd have a nervous breakdown."

"Nope. Because I'm the ONLY speedster to have beaten the crap outta him."

Inertia gaped.

"Batman LET you…do THAT?"

Johnny grinned. "Didn't have much choice."

Of course he neglected to mention Wally's intervention, but what this kid didn't know couldn't hurt him right?

"Inertia, I've been where you are now and believe me, it. Especially if you don't get out of it fast enough, 'cause the pain delivered from the consequences is worse than a koala biting your bum."

Inertia considered this. "Interesting analogy but I'll listen. Doesn't mean that I'll actually take and act on your sagely advice."

Johnny rolled his neck around a bit, cracking bone.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, mate. I'm just glad you're listening. After all, Impulse seems like a good kid and I know that you could be too, if you put your mind to it. I was shown that by the Justice League."

And Johnny Quick took a deep breath and began to talk, making sure that he got his message firmly across.

Meloni smoothed out her son's messy hair, watching him sleeping and taking note of the slight movement of his chest.

"What would be the best course of action?"

"We'll have to…"

Their discussion went unheard by Meloni's ears. How could ANYONE do this to her little boy? How?

Without warning, Impulse's eyes flickered and opened just barely.

"…Mom?"

Meloni's hand flew to his hot cheek.

"Sunshine…?"

Bart Allen gazed weakly at his devoted mother. Panting, he stubbornly raised himself up to a sitting position.

"Mom, where…am I?"

"You're in the Justice League Watchtower honey."

"…"

Max saw the frightened look on Impulse's face. He'd forgotten how much the JLA intimidated the boy. Wow. He was getting OLD.

"Bart, how do you feel round about now?"

Impulse smiled faintly at his mentor.

"Okay…"

"Don't lie Bart."

Impulse winced.

"Fine, I feel really…weak. Where's Inertia?"

"Right here."

Gazes flew towards the door and they spotted the blonde teen propped awkwardly near Johnny. He slowly crossed over to Impulse and shuffled nervously, feeling stares drilling into his back and knowing that he was acting totally out of character.

"How are you?"

Impulse's innocent eyes of gold widened in pleasant surprise, before his face brightened with a happy smile.

"Better now that you're here. I…feel like everyone that should be here are, y'know?"

Yellow met yellow and Inertia couldn't help but echo Bart's smile.

"Yeah. Although, I can't help but wonder where Young Justice are."

Kyle Rayner smacked his palm into his forehead repeatedly.

"Dammit! I KNEW I'd forget something! Sorry kids, I'll call them now."

"Already done." Wally West said lazily, putting his feet up on the padded quilts of Impulse's bed. He whizzed them down again when he felt the full force of Meloni and Max's glares. Impulse just playfully rolled his eyes before grinning.

"It's nice to see ya here too."

"Wouldn't be anywhere else." Flash replied quietly, putting a crimson hand on Impulse's fluffy head.

Inertia scowled heavily, seemingly wishing Flash nothing but an early grave. Impulse frowned disapprovingly as Johnny scooted across to the little speedster's bed.

"Hi there, I'm Johnny Quick."

"Oh…but I thought you'd entered the Speed Force. And…why'd you dye your hair red?"

Inertia fought the urge to face-palm.

"I'm a different Johnny Quick mate."

Bart went even redder. "Oh, sorry."

"No problem kid."

Impulse sank back into the soft pillows, taking shallow breaths and his slim body trembled.

"What's the matter? Inertia asked and Impulse sighed fretfully.

"I…feel sick."

Max brought in a bowl and handed it to him in an eye blink.

"Just in-"

Impulse threw up again.

"-case."

Closing his eyes, Impulse slid into unconsciousness again and Martian Manhunter motioned for everyone to leave the room with a wave of his green hands. Inertia refused to leave and stayed in his seat with a stubborn set to his chin. Recognising the need to be alone, Martian left the two boys to it, going off to let in the other members of Young Justice.

* * *

Annnd…another chapter complete. I hope you liked this, plus the next chapter of Impulse and Inertia. It'll be coming SOON.


	7. Spilling Over

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 7

* * *

Spilling Over.

The door shut with a small clack and Inertia turned towards the sleeping double lying dead to the world.

He could take him out and be long gone before anyone realised. It was another perfect moment. But he knew. He didn't want to do this anymore. Johnny had struck a few chords, but Impulse had spoken to him the most, clearly caring about him despite what he had done. Frankly, it sickened him that Impulse thought he deserved it.

"It sounds so stupid." he said aloud, wanting, NEEDING to talk to Impulse's prone form. "I always assumed that no-one would ever…understand me. But then YOU came along. You understood about the loneliness, the fear of not being good enough."

Impulse remained unknowing. Thad snorted for a moment.

"What am I saying? I'm talking to a boy who's not even listening. But then again, that's the norm for you. You…made me angry at how infantile you were. I was jealous at the life you had acquired, the love that people lavished on you."

Thad smiled a rare gentle smile and placed a hand on Bart's.

"And then just like that…the ugly emotions inside me, the mud-covered anxiety…"

He paused for a fraction of a second before concluding;

"One by one, you melt them all away. With your smile and those expressions of innocent confusion and the ability to love ANYONE, no matter who or what they are. Why? Why would someone like you stay near me and cry for ME?"

Thaddeus stared up at the ceiling, losing himself in past memories.

"When I posed as you for a while, I began to see and realise the life that you had, that I could have. At the time, when Max told me how proud he was of me…well, YOU really, the fact that he mentioned that because he thought I was you shattered that…dream for me. Um, actually looking back, my behaviour was rather childish. I could've had that if I had stuck around long enough."

Here he sighed sadly.

"How can I ask for that? I don't deserve something like that. You ended up near me by mistake Bart."

Suddenly his fist clenched determinedly and his jaw set.

"This time will be different. This time…I want to care for you, like a brother. I don't want us to be apart."

A bitter smile.

"How can I ask for that?"

Johnny and J'onn stood outside the door, listening to those heart-felt words.

"I think he and Bart are ready to connect now." J'onn observed quietly and Johnny just grinned.

Inertia got up suddenly, heading towards the door to leave. He gave Bart a warm expression.

"Yeah, get some sleep."

Then he clicked out the lights and exited. Impulse remained seemingly unaware throughout but when Inertia left the room, a small smile played on his face and he contently sighed Inertia's name in his dream-like sleep.

* * *

This chapter was shorter this time and I hope you all felt the emotions in this. Please review!


	8. Activation

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 8

Well, now we know that Inertia and Impulse are going to get along famously (yeah, sure). But WHO is responsible for this crime? We'll find out in this chapter.

* * *

Activation.

Meloni paced the corridor as Max sat idly on a waiting chair, reading from a huge pile of magazines.

"What are they doing with my son in there? Trying to make him dance the Hula or something?" she huffed as she drew to a stop in front of him.

Max just turned the page, seeming totally calm.

"They know what they're doing Meloni."

"They'd better or…"

She turned threateningly aside.

"I'll break every bone in their body." She cackled, cracking a few knuckles.

"Please Meloni, you'll scare the children." Max said placidly.

Inertia backed away slowly.

"Oh ha ha." Meloni snapped before continuing her pacing.

* * *

In the 30th century, there was a dictatorship. Anybody who rebelled was…well, you wouldn't want to know. Leading this military dictatorship was a vengeful and bitter man called Thawne. Otherwise known as Bart Allen and Thaddeus Thawne's grandfather.

Right now, this blonde, well-built man strode back and forth in his office listening to the details his secretary, Anna, was relaying to him from a shiny silver speaker.

"The subject in question has been injected with substance OX."

"Excellent. And how long will it take to affect him?"

"It's already started sir."

"Good. Tell the assassin to take the rest of the day off."

"Yes sir."

Anna buzzed off and Thawne smirked as he took a hard look out of the double-glazed, bullet-enforced window. The Flash museum was turning to ruins, just like their legacy. Now that the last of the Allens was meeting his maker at the hands of his formula, he had ensured that no Allen or relative could humiliate the Thawnes EVER again! He chuckled at this cleverly-planned victory before his blue eyes alighted on to a photo of his daughter Meloni, when she had been six years old. It was his most cherished possession.

"Meloni, you'll understand that this is for your own good. I have to make sure you don't find out." he muttered, picking it up for a moment before setting it down on his polished ebony coffee table. But he didn't realise that she would find out sooner than he thought. No-one on Earth had a finer place than he.

"Oh Bartholomew Allen, you were a mistake the day you were born."

* * *

An oxygen mask lay on Impulse's face as J'onn stared at him with growing concern. The young teenager's health had been steadily declining as the hours wore on and they were still baffled as to the chemical components that made up the lethal poison. They didn't know how to cure it either.

Oh Meloni was going to be out for their blood.

Inertia stormed in abruptly, having grown fed up of waiting.

"Well? What have you discovered?" he asked sharply and the Flash winced at the tone.

"We're still working on that…We don't have a clue what the poison actually IS. Even Batman and the Question are having trouble." Flash replied nervously and Inertia slammed his onyx-clad fist against the wall.

"Fool! Then you're obviously all useless! They can't be the world's greatest detectives, can they?"

The yellow-haired teen stomped up to the microscope Flash was peering into and snatched it straight from under his nose before he could blink.

"I'LL have a look shall I? I was taught about things like this." Inertia hissed impatiently as he glowered into the magnifying glass. He stared at the blood sample (which looked like a small indigo ring dotted with red), his foot tapping with growing impatience before throwing the microscope against the wall with a shout of frustration. The Flash caught it with lightening reflexes, preventing it from smashing.

"I don't know either!" Inertia raged.

"Thaddeus, that's enough." Meloni appeared in the doorway, going into mother mode. "I won't have you throwing things around in a lab, am I understood?"

Thad chanced a glance at her and saw her facing him down with authoritive milk chocolate eyes.

"Yes ma'am." He sighed in defeat.

She sighed as well before crossing over to him and putting a kind hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, I'm having trouble restraining myself too. But doing things like that only slows things down. So try to calm down okay?"

Inertia nodded, dejected and quiet.

Johnny peeped round the silver door frame.

"Can I try?" he asked politely, gesturing to the microscope. "I've had experience in this sort of area too."

"If I can't, what makes you think you can?" Flash replied almost rudely, getting a silencing grimace from Max.

Impulse's breathing sounded weak and ragged.

"I can only try mate."

Johnny grabbed the powerful microscope and hesitated for a second, finally chancing a fleeting look. He gritted his teeth and gasped.

"See those green flecks?"

"What green flecks? They weren't there before." Flash confirmed as he snatched another peep.

"Exactly. That's why you haven't been able to clearly identify the poison. It doesn't show itself until the victim is well into the second stage."

"Wait, you mean to tell us that you know what this stuff is?" Question burst into the room, followed closely by Batman and Robin, who growled at the sight of his friend. Impulse whimpered.

"Yeah I do mate." Johnny answered grimly. "It's a poison called OX, only found on my world. It's a combo of liquid carbon monoxide and cyanide and it's pretty rare. In fact, you can only find on my version of Earth."

"So whoever had hold of this must have connections and some powerful friends." Robin growled.

"Obviously." Batman agreed.

"We have to find out who did this. Trace back to the source. I'm betting that whoever managed to inject the poison into the boy was hired by someone else." Question murmured quietly, already seating himself with his favourite laptop.

"Batman, Question, Robin, get digging." Johnny ordered as he put on his sunglasses. "Inertia, Max, you're with me."

"Hey, what about ME?" Flash argued.

"YOU'RE going to stay with Meloni and J'onn and look after Bart. We've got work to do."

Max and Inertia nodded, adjusting their goggles and mask and the three speedsters flew as they set off on an imperative mission.

* * *

Well, how was that? Please tell me what you think!


	9. Countdown

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 9.

Okay everybody, sorry about the lateness of this update. Um, anyway, here is the next chapter, which will focus on Bart's progress and the three heroes' attempts to track anybody who knows about this assassination attempt – unless Bart dies. Then it will be murder…

* * *

Countdown.

Meloni smoothed a lock of russet brown hair from her beloved son's white face as she watched him sleep. For the past day, ever since those damn speedsters left, all he had done was sleep. All she wanted was for Impulse to wake up, even if it was just for five seconds, just so he would be able to talk to her, just so they could confirm that her baby boy was okay. A lone tear tracked its way down her face. She felt so lonely right now…

"Bart honey, wake up for your mom. Please, please…" Meloni pleaded in a broken whisper to her son. There was still no response and the upset mother of the Fastest Boy Alive stood as J'onn and the medical team entered the room to run MORE tests.

"Mom…?"

Meloni spun round to stare at her son and in her excitement, answered in Interlac.

"Hi sunshine!"

* * *

Everything felt wrong. His vision was extremely blurred as colours swirled in random directions and he felt groggy and weaker than he'd ever known his body to be before in his whole life. It was like he was floating…

His mother (at least, he thought it was his mother) leaned over him and he could barely work out her facial expression. He struggled to get the words out.

"Mom…hi." His voice sounded raspy, like a frog or something and he managed a faint grin. It was too sterile in here.

"Oh sweetie. How are you feeling?" Mom hugged him as gently as she could, her warm brown eyes questioning with loving concern.

"Like…crap." he murmured and Meloni sniffed tearfully.

"Yes, you'll feel like that."

"What's…wrong with me…Mom? Where are…Thad and Max?" Bart asked fearfully, struggling to raise himself up again, his young arms wobbling.

"Oh no, not this time young man." his mom said sternly and held him carefully down. She chanced a glower at J'onn before asking;

"Can I tell him? Or will it stress him out?"

The Martian nodded, giving her the go-ahead and his mom turned back to him lovingly.

"Bart honey…you've been poisoned."

Bart felt sick and a pit of dread dropped into his stomach.

"Mom…I'm scared." He whimpered, seeking her comfort by snuggling into her. She gripped him tightly and buried her young face into his thick chocolate hair.

"Me too."

* * *

Max perched atop a lonely, wind-abused hill overlooking the Atlantic, letting the harsh wind beat him about his craggy face. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough punishment for him in his opinion.

"What're ya thinking mate?" muttered a tense but concerned voice at his ear and the Zen Master of Speed put his gaze upon the pale face of Johnny Quick.

"How I should have taken better care of my ward." He sighed, betraying the extreme guilt and apprehension.

"Yeah, you should have." Inertia replied frankly, running a hand though his neon yellow hair and glowering at the older man.

"You know, that was pretty harsh." Johnny retorted, warding off any chance of rebuke with his _"don't mess with me"_ expression.

The aqua sea smashed viciously against the white crags of the cliff in Dover they were currently standing on and Inertia reflected that it was a great representation of the similarly tumultuous feelings washing around in his gut. Right now, there was a part of him that wanted to kill both Max and Johnny and head out on his own to find the asshole who'd administered the lethal poison to his arch-rival and kill him too. Then there was another part that wanted to take his anger out on someone else (habitually, Impulse sprang to mind first, before being violently quashed). But the biggest part reasoned that those courses of action had no structure to them. So he'd follow the safe route- for now.

"Let's stop wasting our time here and get going." he snapped, breaking the awkward silence that hung between the three runners. Johnny straightened and rocketed off, followed by Max and Inertia, both of whom wore deadly serious masks.

"Johnny come in, I've found some details on the guy you're looking for."

"I'm reading you Question – and I knew you wouldn't let me down. What you got? Over."

"The would-be assassin's got a connection with a British millionaire going by the name of Earl Stevenson. He made his money through business and telephone marketing. Or so he says." Question answered grimly, the sound of his fingers flying over the keys quite audible over the radio crackling.

"Where does he live?" Inertia interrupted, sounding a bit too eager in Question's opinion.

"West Midlands, Hanley Swan."

Finally- a lead!

"Excellent work my friend! Over and out!" Johnny buzzed off and grinned happily at his team-mates.

"Ready for some action?" he quizzed the younger one and Inertia nodded.

"Let's do this."

Sonic booms ripped the air around them.

* * *

Earl sipped his mid-morning cup of tea, savouring the sweetness and warmth. It was so good to sit comfortably in a lavish plum and silver ornate chair with two lion heads carved on the arm rests and drink a well-deserved cup that his faithful maid Rena had brought in for him. His drawing room was impossibly neat, adorned with gold curtains; the two right-hand walls were covered by large oak bookcases filled with useless trivia and statistics. The other walls, painted a deep forest green, housed some ancestral paintings of great-grandfathers and grandmothers. A shiny violin stood proudly in one corner and the huge bay windows let plenty of light into the room, making it feel spacious and airy. Yes, Earl felt like a king in this calming atmosphere.

It didn't last.

A hand grabbed his robed dressing gown by the neck and hoisted the startled tall man from his chair to meet the angry goggled eyes of Inertia.

"You know something I don't." Inertia mocked in a sing-song voice. "Tell me."

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! What will Earl reveal? Stay tuned folks!


	10. LiftOff

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 10.

Earl's going to reveal all in this chapter. Who knows what will happen?

* * *

Lift-Off

Inertia smirked at the weak auburn man dangling helplessly in front of him. Behind him, Johnny tutted.

"Inertia, he's not going to tell you anything like that; now put him down." Max said sternly and Inertia complied reluctantly, pushing Earl roughly down in his chair. It felt great to be in a position of power.

"Now then, we want you co-operate nicely with us. After all, we know some VERY interesting things about you, mate. Like an illegal drug ring for one…" Johnny let his voice tail off into an idle threat, breaking Earl's plans instantly. Oh, Johnny knew how to interrogate alright.

"I'll do anything you want! Just don't hurt me!" Earl pleaded, sad that his nice day had been ruined. "What have you barged in for?" His upper class English accent became more pronounced.

"A day ago, a Justice family member was almost killed in an assassination attempt by being poisoned. Does the name Impulse ring a bell?" Johnny asked pleasantly, pleased to see Earl flinch. Inertia fidgeted for the response.

"Not really. I-I mean, I vaguely know of it, because a man, strange fellow really, came to my door, asking me for money." Earl puffed contemptuously at the very thought. "H-he wanted to pull off a job on this "Impulse". I'm no stranger to these sorts] of deals anyway-"

"I bet you aren't." muttered Max in disgust.

"-but he seemed rather eager to do this job."

"What did he look like?" Inertia cut in, impatient as they were skirting the issue.

"Well, he had a hooded cloak on so I couldn't see his face at all. And there was something…almost superhuman about him. He wore a lot of black-"

"What do you mean by "superhuman"? Explain." Max retorted idly and Earl nodded placidly.

"Well, every time I looked away for a moment – or turned my back – he would be in a position different from the previous one. But then again, he was probably trained to move that quickly." Earl said hastily and Inertia nodded in agreement. "He mentioned something about a "rare substance that could revolutionise the way assassins killed their prey". I didn't like the tone on him so I gave him the money and threw him out."

Johnny looked confused. "Didn't he tell you WHY he needed the money?"

"No dear chap, he just side-stepped that point rather smoothly." Earl contemplated for a moment before shaking his head regrettably. "And I'm afraid that's all I know and can recall."

Max hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and shaking Earl's pudgy hand, earning a groan of annoyance from Inertia.

"Thanks for your time."

That was all the response Earl Stevenson got for his wealth of information before the three costumed men disappeared. Earl gave a heavy sigh to the stuffy air before plonking himself back in his chair and mourning the loss of some perfectly good Twinings tea (which was now spattered on his royal blue rug, along with the remnants of his egg-white cup. At any rate, that sordid business had nothing to do with HIM. Ringing the tiny silver bell for his maid, Earl resolved to ask for something stronger.

* * *

"What was THAT?" Inertia snapped once they were a good three miles from the pompous twit's house.

"It was the only thing to do Thad…" Max replied calmly but Inertia wasn't having any of it.

"No, that was a chance to keep him afraid and you flushed that down the drain!" The boy appeared to be on the verge of hitting something again.

"Actually kid, Max set up a decent ploy. Let Earl believe that we won't bother him and that we'll keep his dodgy dealings on the hush. Until the police show up." Johnny ended his sentence with a wicked smirk.

"Oh. Well then, let's analyse what we've found so far." Inertia muttered and Max sighed.

There was a lot of work to be done with this youngling.

* * *

"Can we see him?" a timid voice whispered from the open, inviting door and Meloni stared up into the faces of Young Justice, peering at the weak, sleeping speedsters.

"Come on in." She put a finger to her lips, indicating for the kids to stay quiet as the smoke-girl and her companions made their way over.

"Poor lil' guy. And to think, you teased him about his hair Rob, just the other day…" Kon shook his head sadly.

"That was YOU, nimrod!" Robin squeaked, cuffing him. Secret smiled and let her ethereal eyes fall on Meloni.

"I'm Secret ma'am."

Meloni smiled back. "That's a lovely name. I'm Meloni, Bart's mom."

"He's told us all about you!" Cissie, the former Arrowette, squealed and clapped her hand to her mouth, duck-egg blue eyes widening. "Whoops." The others rolled their eyes.

The young boy who rode the lightning stirred and forced his heavy jewel-like eyes open to discover the source of the unwanted noise. Then his face glowed as he registered his team-mates.

"Guys…you came!"

"Wouldn't be anywhere else, mon." Empress chuckled and Meloni slipped from the room to give her son some quality time with friends – although she was a bit concerned about the black and white boy near the back, who muttered to himself.

What did "fraggin'" mean?

* * *

And there's the chapter sorted. Please review and tell me who you think the assassin is.


	11. Burning Up

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 11.

So, Earl revealed some very interesting stuff, the cad. How will this help our super friends?

* * *

Burning Up.

"So, you think that the guy who injected Bart Allen has powers?" Johnny Quick asked, tousling ginger hair through his long fingers.

"Yes, it's the only logical explanation for someone as fast as Impulse could get hit." Inertia replied calmly, wishing that he had Cradyl with him.

"That does make some sense…" Max pondered.

"But couldn't they have got to him in his sleep?" Flash paced as he stared down Thaddeus.

"No, impossible." Max shook his head. "For he is a VERY light sleeper at the most. He'd have heard someone come in."

The four speedsters were currently in the Justice League meeting room, along with Meloni and the big heroes of the time, including Batman and Robin. The polished glass table they were at currently held a big breakfast, for it had been night-time in Britain and four o'clock in the morning when Johnny, Inertia and Max had arrived back, hungry and tired.

"But, why didn't anyone see this sooner? I mean, it's pretty obvious." The Boy Wonder stated, earning a glare from Batman.

"The next thing I wanna know is who was the supplier of this OX stuff in the first place?" Superboy interjected and Superman looked down at his sidekick (sort of) with a pleased expression in his baby blue eyes.

"Well, Johnny told us it came from his world," Wonderwoman said slowly. "so wouldn't that involve the Crime Syndicate?"

Johnny' expression went flat. "Probably."

"Most likely." Batman stated strongly. Wondergirl clenched her fists, tossing gold hair.

"Then we'll go confront them!"

"No." Wonderwoman commanded, overriding loud juvenile protests as she continued; "I won't have any of you children face the Crime Syndicate."

"We're just as good as you adults!" Secret exclaimed loudly, seeming very hurt.

"It's nothing to do with that." started Green Lantern, glowing green soothingly. "It's just that they're – "

"Dangerous." Johnny interrupted his voice harsh.

"I've seen many heroes, even ones your age, try to take them down. It didn't end well." The cold statement loomed threateningly over the meeting and Meloni flinched. The masked Boy Wonder gulped.

"A few members of the Justice League will go, but don't worry, we'll keep you updated and you'll get tasks set anyway." Wonderwoman broke the cold atmosphere but Lobo's face remained sour.

"Yeah, like making us clean the fraggin' toilets or somethin'." He muttered, rolling pupiless orange eyes.

"Robin, you're with us." Batman and Question stood and Robin's masked face became awed.

"Wait, you're letting ME go?"

"No. We need your services in info digging, which you're really good at." Faceless Question replied and Robin grinned shyly.

"Thanks."

The three detectives quickly left and Superman got up from his seat at the head of the table. "I'll go."

Flash nodded eagerly. "Me too."

Inertia set his chin defiantly. "I'm going."

Max smiled. "Of course."

This led to an outraged outbreak from the other kids and a few adults.

"But he's a kid too!" Empress cried.

"This is undermining our authority!" Aquaman yelled, his features going red.

"I wanna go if he is!" pouted Wondergirl.

"SILENCE!" Meloni smiled politely at the astounded glances her way. "Thank you. For Inertia, this IS different. He is directly related to this case and deserves to know some home truths. After all, if one speedster is threatened, then surely the others are too, am I right Max?"

"You are."

"And I think Max knows the other reason why he should go." Meloni concluded, Max suddenly getting the focus of a few curious stares.

"Which will wait until another time." The old man answered. "Now let's prepare and go."

The rota was established, consisting of Flash, Max Mercury, Inertia, Superman, Wonderwoman and Black Canary. Inertia sped Meloni over to Impulse's bed so she could remain with her son.

"I'll be back soon." he promised his weak clone and Bart smiled wearily.

" 'Kay."

The blonde archer opted to stay with Bart as well while Superboy and a blushing Wondergirl were sent together on a sudden mission, filling in for Wonderwoman and Superman. It was also decided that Johnny would stay behind, lest he be targeted by his former team-mates.

* * *

Batman guarded the portal controls as the team filed into the docking bay.

"Good luck and be careful." The Caped Crusader monotoned, not even sparing any of the group a glance. But Clark knew him well enough to know that the black ninja was deeply concerned.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded as the shining, swirling portal winked into view. Inertia wondered if someone was coming through, but nobody else appeared concerned, appearing eerie in the portal's glow. The blue soft light lit up Wonderwoman's beautiful form as she intoned;

"Goodbye Bruce."

Following the Amazon in, everyone else waved and said farewell as the sparking light swallowed them up.

Bruce Wayne sighed.

"You'd better come back."

* * *

This is a filler chapter but next time, there'll be some revealing and violent confrontation with the scary Crime Syndicate. Please review.


	12. Seizure

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 12.

The plucky heroes of our Earth have arrived on the parallel Earth where the Crime Syndicate once again reign supreme. What will they discover? (Note: In this time, Johnny opted to go with the Justice League when they went home in the film. The Crime Syndicate broke free and started up again, despite attempts to bring them down.) Oh and I forgot to mention that Green Lantern is also in the rota team. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Anything DC belongs to DC. Enough said.

* * *

Seizure.

Flash was the first to arrive, tripping comically over his own feet as he stepped from the indigo portal and landed on his own face.

"No, my beautiful face!"

"Actually, you look loads better now." Black Canary joked as she too stepped a lot more gracefully down.

Wonderwoman flew out with Inertia hot on her heels. Superman followed through with Max Mercury.

"Maybe you should have stayed home." Inertia observed the flat-out Flash dryly.

"Have you got the info-scanner?" Flash asked the pale blonde Canary, ignoring Inertia's last remark as Black Canary fished through her tiny handbag.

"Yep." Extracting it, she handed it to Superman. He quickly checked the date.

"Whoa, it's Tuesday 5th August 2010, same as ours. But it's 5:30 in the evening, not 6.00am like us."

Inertia ran off while Superman was still talking and came back with that day's newspaper.

"They've been really stupid." he sneered, throwing it down in front of Superman.

"What do you mean?" the Man of Steel asked, picking it up.

On the front cover was a declaration of the whereabouts of the Crime Syndicate, a bold statement to tell the people of this Earth that they were here and that there was nothing they could do about it.

"Wow, isn't this what they did last time?" Flash winced, seeing Inertia pacing as he did.

"So they're playing the intimidation game are they? We should have brought Batman." Dinah sighed and Inertia smiled strangely.

"I'm good at intimidation as well."

"I didn't think it would work twice." Wonderwoman admitted and Inertia nodded.

"That's what they want people to think. Now come on, MOVE!"

Rolling his eyes at Inertia's impatience, Max followed the youngest member of their established team.

* * *

Beeping echoed through the metal halls and a slim figure strolled her way towards its source, wiggling her hips unconsciously as she went. Seeing a small blue dot flashing on the monitor, her dark eyes widened in surprise.

"Ultraman, we've finally got company!" Superwoman called to a hulking figure looming in the doorway, red cape fluttering in the breeze streaming in from an open window.

"Good, I've been bored." Superman's opposite exclaimed and he flew out quickly, leaving Superwoman to roll her eyes. She wished Owlman was still alive.

* * *

Flash tore through undergrowth as he ran side by side with Max and Inertia. Black Canary was being carried by Green Lantern in a verdant sphere.

"Where are we anyway?" she asked Superman as he kept pace with Wonderwoman.

"America I think." he answered and the pale blonde rolled her eyes.

"No way Sherlock. Which state?"

"How's he meant to know?" Green Lantern replied, glancing down at moving shapes heading towards them. "Uh oh, think we've got company."

Flash dodged sharply as this Earth's Green Lantern tried to slam into him from the side. Inertia performed a simple back flip as he avoided Ultraman's eye lasers.

"So you came back!" Superwoman glared at Superman in particular as she ascended from the clouds. "What do you want?"

Inertia spoke up before anyone else could reply. "We want answers. You have some information we require and we need to know the truth!"

Ultraman laughed. "And if we don't tell ya? Seriously, we've come back to power! Yeah, it took a little longer as there were more difficulties than last time, but we did it!"

"What makes you think you can lord it over everyone?" Wonderwoman sounded mad as she flew defiantly over to Ultraman and faced him down, their noses almost touching and her eyes flashing cerulean steel.

Max Mercury smiled wryly. "This is my first time meeting you fine people and I can't say I like what I'm seeing." Blue crinkled eyes narrowed although the tone was light.

"What would you know, old man?" their Green Lantern sneered, charging up some verdant energy.

"What do you know about the substance OX?" Black Canary said loudly as she saw everyone in the now cleared out space in the cool, shaded greenery of the forest gearing up for an impending fight.

The attitude of the Crime Syndicate changed completely.

"You know about that?" Red Arrow gasped quietly. "We thought we destroyed that stuff."

"Wait what?" Flash waved his hands up and down in a blur of movement. "Back up. You wanted to DESTROY it? Get rid of it?"

Ultraman's chiselled face became grave. "At one time, even though it was rare, a pandemic of OX poisoning broke out on our world. A group of assassins were going round killing people and planting it in practically every food and water supply there was!"

Red Arrow bowed his head.

"My wife died because of it-and she was one of us!" He looked grief-stricken and Dinah couldn't help but feel pity.

"We think they were trying to get at us, but they made a HUGE mistake while attempting to pull it off. Or they were a bunch of crazies." Ultraman nodded. Superwoman took over as the Crime Syndicate relaxed.

"We stepped in around about then. I mean, there's no point in ruling a world without people! We found the idiots and killed them."

Wonderwoman flinched.

"Then we took the entire OX we could find and burned the lot. It was pretty flammable."

"And explodable." Green Lantern added and got shushed.

"That's all there is to it. Why do you want to know?" Superwoman got a little defensive again.

"One of our own is stricken." Wonderwoman replied quietly and sympathy crossed the path of every face of their opponents.

"There's not much you can do." Red Arrow whispered. "They're probably goners."

"No! I don't believe that!" Inertia yelled, losing his fragile temper again. Sunny hair wavered as angry eyes glowered from acid yellow goggles. "And why should we believe your fairytale? Your stash is probably just sitting in a dark corner, waiting to be used!"

Red Arrow's silent rage was enough to quieten the storm.

"Why would I lie about my own wife's death? How she has left me and my son to cope without her smile?"

There was nothing but the whisper of scattered leaves and a humble silence to accompany it.

"Then…how did Impulse get a dose of OX?" Max Mercury ventured uncertainly at last and Superwoman grew thoughtful. Ultraman put a stocky hand to his broad chin.

"Could be…something to do with Owlman."

"The maniac!" Green Lantern of the heroes' earth hissed darkly, his ring sizzling a little.

"Hush, Kyle." Superman soothed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we didn't just burn it. Owlman came up with a plan to sell a bit to other planets, use it however they wanted. We didn't care, as long as it was well away from us. Some guy came along from your planet's future that very same day when Owlman put out a signal telling the whole UNIVERSE about OX's lethal potential." Superwoman sighed disapprovingly.

"What'd he look like?" Flash asked excitedly and Ultraman frowned as he tried to remember.

"Pretty tall…and well-dressed in a grey suit too. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. But he had that spoiled look- a man who doesn't like to hear the word no. Said his name was President Thawne."

A stunned silence.

"No…" Thad whispered.

This was a nightmare come true.

* * *

So, how'd you like it? I'll try and be quicker with 13. Oh and the speech Thad makes to Bart in chapter 7 is owned by Kyo Sohma in Fruits Basket and Natsuki Takaya.


	13. Fever

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 13.

So we've found out who wants Bart Allen dead. But is there more to this than meets the eye?

* * *

Fever.

Thaddeus Thawne stared uncomprehendingly at the metas in front of him. He should have known -or at least guessed – that his creator would have had something to do with this. Why hadn't he been more vigilant? Behind him, he registered Max whispering profanities.

"Did that help at all?" asked Red Arrow in concern and Thad felt that this guy wasn't too bad, at least.

"It was more than enough. Thank you." Diana said sincerely and smiled. "May I express my condolences for your wife?"

Red nodded. "Thanks."

Sudden beeping attracted everyone's attention and they spotted Ultraman flying like a rocket clear of the woods.

"What the-?"

Red Arrow seemed to understand, because he notched an arrow to his bow and tilted to aim at Green Lantern.

"We can't let you go now. You'll spread what we've done and probably try to overthrow us again." A sad smile worked its way on his thin face. Superwoman took up a fighting stance, baring her tanned skin as she did. Their Green Lantern sailed in for another attack.

Inertia sighed as he dodged.

At least Impulse wasn't dealing with anything like this.

* * *

Unfortunately, Impulse seemed to be dealing with a worse foe. Hacking coughs rattled his thin body, his torso slumping back to the damp mattress with a sigh. His eyes burned and he realized the throbbing presence drilling into his skull. Blood spattered the shaky hand he had brought up to his mouth moments ago. His mom seemed to be able to do nothing and it killed her soul to know this.

"Honey, perhaps you should sleep?"

"C-can't."

"You have to! Otherwise you won't get better!" Cissie stormed, afraid of the frail boy who continued to deteriorate as the minutes ticked by.

Everything burned, like fire was engulfing the sterile sick bay. Why couldn't they feel it? Was it reserved just for him?

"Mom…"

Meloni made a quick decision and strode to one of the doctors, who held a deep discussion with Batman and Johnny Quick.

"He needs morphine." Her small face was stubborn.

The doctor turned to face her unwillingly. She briefly saw his nametag, which read Adrian Small.

"I-I'm afraid we can't do that, Mrs Allen. Your son's metabolism would burn it up straight away."

"He's right Mel. It doesn't work on us." Johnny broke it to her gently. Batman, however, thought differently.

"His metabolism has taken a huge hit from the OX. It could mean that giving him something would work this time."

"We'll try a normal dose and wait for an hour. If not, we'll try it from there."

She had never been happier to know that Batman was around.

"Thank you."

A quick hook-up to a drip later and the dosage of morphine was administered, connected to Bart's slim arm by a sharp needle and a clear tube.

"W-what's…this?"

"It's morphine sweetie. It'll help the pain." Meloni squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I don't like needles…"

His body trembled and Cissie knew him well enough to foresee him running off if he'd been able to.

"It'll be okay." Secret said and Impulse nodded, his head thick with cotton wool and lead. Everything was so blurry that he didn't really know who he was talking to. He only had sound to help him distinguish and that wasn't working too well either, for they sounded bubbly, like everyone he knew was underwater. Even then, he barely understood. The boy with amber eyes drifted in and out of awareness, not being able to remember anything from the last five minutes. Maybe he was losing his grip on sanity…He couldn't even move.

"S'working yet?"

"No, not yet. You've only just started having it, you silly sunshine." There was the son she knew and loved.

That was his mother…he was sure of that. Who else would call him sunshine? Sweat dripped off his face and he mumbled something hazily in the fog of confusion.

* * *

"Stop this! Stop right now!" Black Canary cried as she let loose a Canary Cry. Several oaks splintered by their roots and everyone covered their ears. Superman and Ultraman hissed in pain. Max went in for a counter-attack, throwing their Static to the gravelly ground hard. He was out like a light.

"Now that I've got your attentions AGAIN, you can divulge something else to me." Black Canary said through gritted teeth. "If your Owlman was anything like our Batman, then he would have made a record of the symptoms shown by someone with OX poisoning. What are they?"

"Why should-?"

Superman slammed Green Lantern against the wall by his neck with one broad hand. Kyle winced.

"Tell us. A child's life could be saved with this."

Red Arrow's freeze arrow sailed harmlessly twenty feet away from the group and embedded itself point centre in the brown bark of a birch. Even shock couldn't completely mess with his deadly aim.

"You didn't tell us he was a child!"

"There was no need until now!" Flash retorted.

Superwoman reached a conclusion in her brain.

"We'll show you."

* * *

An hour later and the morphine wasn't doing its job. Johnny sighed.

"I told you this wouldn't work."

Meloni was devastated. "Is he to be denied his rest?"

Batman had another option though.

"I say we overdose him now."

Two pairs of incredulous eyes stared into blank lenses.

"But won't that kill him?" Were the first utterings from Meloni, brown eyes shining in worry.

"Will that work?" Johnny asked, doubtful even in the face of Batman's reputation for doing the impossible.

"I have a hunch." Was all that the Black Avenger would say as he strode away to the sick bay.

Bart Allen wasn't doing so well. His hands and arms were melting into sticky goo and he thought he spotted Martian Manhunter shaking his head disbelievingly as he read Bart's temperature every so often. If it was possible, the heat seemed to have risen AGAIN.

He wished his father were here – or Max at least.

Something ebony and bat-like swooped into the room and advanced on him, frightening the poor boy into hysterics.

Ollie shook his straw-coloured head as he helped J'onn and Meloni hold a struggling Impulse yet again.

"Jeez Bruce, I always have to tell you to stop scaring the kids!"

Bruce glared before applying an otherwise potentially fatal overdose into the boy's IV drip. The effect was instant. Impulse's struggles and cries grew weak and a minute later, his exhausted body went completely limp.

"I don't believe it! It worked, by Jove!" Green Arrow cried in shock and was teased mercilessly by Johnny later for sounding like a butler.

"Nice work Batman, thank you." Meloni congratulated him sincerely, utterly relieved.

"I got lucky. That wouldn't have worked either under normal circumstances. But these times aren't normal." Batman replied quietly and noticed Secret and Cissie exhaling in relief. Lobo barged in.

"Frag! What's goin' on? I heard the kid screaming his ass off! Anybody needin' a fraggin'?" he growled, muscles pumped and ready to go. Empress wasn't too far behind, acting more calmly and taking her time.

"No, Impulse is asleep now. Frag anyone loudly and your remains will be scattered in space. In matchboxes." Batman deadpanned and everyone shuddered. Even Lobo couldn't quite hide his discomfort.

"I hope this gets sorted out soon because this is ridiculous." Empress muttered from the metallic doorway.

* * *

The keys clicked busily as Superwoman tapped away at the computer. The heroes had a small reprieve so they scanned their surroundings, curious about the Syndicate's new home.

Great marble pillars extended like glossy tendrils from the high ceiling to the shiny platinum floor. Golden sunlight poured in from the open windows, reminding Max sadly of Bart Allen's eyes. State of the art technology lay scattered about the wide room they currently occupied and the walls remained neutral and stern.

"Here they are."

Superwoman's exotic voice brought their attention back to the neon-green monitor and Inertia pushed his way to the front, unable to see over the broad shoulders of the taller adults.

Symptoms of OX poisoning.

I have observed and noted as follows:

First Stage.

Headache

Slowing down of motor movements

Nausea

Lack of energy

Vomiting

The beginning of high fever

Persistent coughing

Fainting

Second Stage

Exceeding periods of unconsciousness

Feeling tired and weak

Unable to move

Constant migraine

Coughing up blood

Fever increases

The problems with respiratory movement (breathing)

Can see specks of green on red blood cells under the microscope

Third Stage

Blurred vision

Fever starts to spike

Hard of hearing

Practically immobile

Loss of lucidity (in periods of an hour at a time)

Hallucinations

Problems with breathing increase due to mucus clogging the lungs

Fourth Stage

Fever spikes to a point where it can go no higher

Blood starts to fill up the lungs

Complete loss of lucidity

Body shakes continuously

Aching joints

Constantly on edge

Fifth Stage

Blood vessels in eyes burst, causing blindness

Patient goes insane due to stress and being unable to distinguish reality from fiction

Ears start to bleed

Respiratory equipment is required to enable patient to breathe

Paralysis

Loss of consciousness

Final Stage

All organs and body systems shut down, due to white blood cells attacking them

Death

The last stage seemed particularly ominous to Thad and Max

"We have to stop this…" Flash said hoarsely, unable to keep the fear out of his normally bright voice.

"We will." Clark assured him, before turning to the waiting Syndicate.

"You have done so much for us today. We can't interfere with you right now, for we have bigger problems."

Every face became mortified or shocked. Inertia just rolled metallic gold eyes in disdain.

"But, when this is over, mark my words, we'll come back and take you down for good." Max promised, sea-blue eyes locking with Superman and Ultraman.

They smirked.

"We look forward to it." Ultraman boomed with a blood-thirsty grin.

Black Canary took out the portal warp, cringing at the way their Green Lantern stared at her. Kyle stared threateningly back.

"We're off. Don't turn your back or you'll get burned." Wally said confidently and the indigo light flashed into existence behind them. One by one, the heroes leapt in.

"Good riddance – for now." Superwoman muttered as the space-time rip breezed gently shut.

* * *

That's it for now! Will Impulse be saved from the final stage? Please review and find out!


	14. Breaking Down

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 14

We know the symptoms of OX poisoning now – and they're not pretty! What will Impulse and Inertia do now?

* * *

Breaking Down.

The indigo portal swirled into being and Batman finally relaxed (well, as much as he normally did) as each hero popped out, safe and sound, although a little subdued.

"Well?" Superboy inquired, Robin looking at Inertia's expression curiously.

"We found out who did this. And what the symptoms are." Inertia replied, but his voice sounded numb.

"Excellent progress." Question noted. Inertia sped away in a burst of wind to visit his DNA donor and Max put out a hand to prevent Supergirl from following.

"Leave him be. We have some explaining to do anyway."

* * *

Impulse smiled weakly as he faintly heard the door open.

"Who is it?" His amber orbs wheeled, searching for him. Inertia winced. He was starting the third stage already?

"Inertia. You feeling a little…better?"

Bart Allen continued to smile. "Not really, but thanks for askin'."

Meloni observed the two boys from her secluded corner, where she was reading a glossy fashion magazine. They seemed to be getting on better.

"What…happened?" Impulse whispered and Thad truly appreciated how weak his 'good' counterpart was becoming.

"We know who did this to you now, but it doesn't explain who or why he hired someone in the first place." Thaddeus glared at the tiled floor, aware of Impulse's golden gaze resting on his blonde head.

"It was your grandfather, President Thawne."

A 'thump' of the thick magazine hitting the floor alerted the two boys to Meloni, whose normally peaceful eyes had erupted into fire and rage.

"How dare he do this…to his GRANDSON! To ME!" Meloni cried, grabbing the crumpled magazine off the ground and tossing it carelessly on to the glass coffee table without looking. The mother of Bart Allen was fuming. This was the last straw.

"I am NEVER going back to the future now! He's ruined it for us!"

"Mom…it's okay. I-I'm still here right?" Bart tried to calm his mother, worried because she hadn't really slept in two days.

The brown-haired lady stared at him for a full moment before breaking down.

"Oh Bart, you've always been so kind-hearted" Striding over, she squeezed him tightly. Inertia was inclined to agree with her.

"Mom…" Bart hugged her pathetically back, until he needed to grab the bowl and hurl into it again.

"I swear I'll make him pay for this." Inertia growled darkly and the rage and hatred that had built up ever since he was born snapped from its taut thread inside him. They only had time to register the ugly, feral snarl on his pointed face and the blazing hate in his yellow eyes before he had disappeared.

"Inertia…wait!" Bart reached out half-heartedly, but it was no use. "What's he gonna do?"

* * *

"This is serious, blown out of all proportion." Zatanna said as she and Robin sat near Batgirl and Bataman. Secret floated anxiously near Tim's glossy black head.

"We NEED to confront him about this. He probably has the antidote mate." Johnny Quick retorted, angry at this normal man for harbouring such a drawn-out grudge and taking it out on an innocent child.

Wondergirl flipped her long blonde hair aside as Green Arrow and Black Canary were summoned on another mission together by Huntress. The stars and constellations floated idly past the meeting room's bay windows.

"I want to help Imp now! He's getting worse and it'll be too late by the time we've dawdled!"

It seemed someone else thought in the same manner. Alarms blared suddenly.

"Oh, what now?" Wonderwoman sighed in exasperation, losing her patience as she stood to deal with the latest problem.

"We have a breach!" Mister Miracle's voice wafted over the black and red loudspeakers in panic. "That Inertia kid's just gone through the portal!"

Max and Johnny leapt to their feet, worry in their blue and dark eyes.

"I have a bad feeling about where he's gone." Flash said, joining the other two speedsters as they hurtled to the control room. Batman grimaced.

"Knew he'd be trouble."

"You quiet." Batgirl spoke for everyone.

* * *

Inertia landed awkwardly on his hands and knees, splaying his hindquarters out a little to keep his balance intact. All that he could think of was finding that piece of crap and beating him to death. It was his fault. Straightening up, the boy with lemon hair seemed to blur together, keeping inconspicuous with the crowd, before disappearing as he zoomed off to confront his evil maker. He had to pay.

The hate was building inside Thad as he ran, and the wicked grin on his face grew and grew, thoughts of revenge and retribution dancing around in his head, like glittering beacons of sunlight.

"This is it Thawne! You'll pay!" Thad hissed and he burst through the concrete walls of his destination.

The very lab he'd been born in, whirring and shimmering with artificial lights, and a startled President Thawne's face.

Max and Wally tumbled out of the portal, closely followed by Johnny Quick, who shook his head disbelievingly at the sprawling metropolis laid out in front of them.

"Whoa, no trees or anything? How are we going to find a crazed speedster in amongst this lot?" He threw out a yellow arm.

"We'll track him. C'mon, we've got no time to waste." Flash gabbled and sped off, already hot on Inertia's trail.

"Follow my lead and I'll teach you." Max intoned patiently, living up to his name as a wise teacher and the pair set off after the Flash, blue and red lightening crackling haphazardly around their toned bodies.

"I hope we get their in time…for Inertia's sake." Johnny thought, crossing his fingers behind his back.

Impulse stared giddily up at the ceiling, seeing flitting lights.

"What's goin' on Inertia?"

* * *

That's the end of this chapter. Only two or three chapters left folks! How will this get wrapped up? You'll have to find out and please review!


	15. Blood Lust

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 15

Thaddeus Thawne has snapped and is out for blood. Will Max and the others get to him in time and what is waiting for them?

* * *

Blood Lust.

Batman and Robin got to work linking up Max's video feed to the other startled heroes. Everyone felt hot worry in their guts as they wondered what kind of brutality Inertia had up his sleeve.

"Can you see me now?" Crinkled, old cerulean eyes blinked down at them from his wrist monitor, making him appear to be upside down.

"Yes we can." they chorused, then grinned ruefully as they realized they sounded like a bunch of heroic schoolchildren.

"We're on his case now and we're coming to the end of this bloody difficult trail he's left us." Johnny grumbled. "I swear I'm gonna grab him by his hair and boot his-!"

"YES, well quiet down. We're here." Max cried, slightly embarrassed despite the situation at hand and Bart faintly grinned. Oh that was so Max…

"Crikey, look at the hole he's left in this wall! What happened here?" Johnny exclaimed, peering through to gaze at the destruction and carnage left in Thad's wake. Rubble lay randomly at different rocky angles on the cracked metal floor. Advanced super computers fizzed, their wires torn and crackling electricity. Spots of blood dotted the entrance to the cold and unwelcoming lab.

"Oh dear." Flash mumbled and Bart barely heard the panic in his voice as he lay in his bed.

"What's…Thad done?" he whispered in horror, struggling to the see the screen linking up to the monitor in the hospital area. His sight was failing.

Meloni clutched her brood's hand and witnessed a thrill of fear for her dad – and Inertia. What had gone on?

Plenty.

_Before…_

Thad wasted no time in slamming Thawne against the rock-hard wall.

"Why did you do this?"

"Do what, boy? Make this lab? You of all people should know."

"NO! Why did YOU try to kill Impulse?" Inertia snarled, his hot temper causing to throw a hand around Thawne's neck.

When should he start squeezing…?

"You should be thanking me, young man. I'm just achieving what you couldn't!" Thawne snarled, equally as hateful.

"Who did you hire to do this? I want to kill them myself." Inertia said in a low, dangerous tone, rankled at the malicious barb.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Thawne sneered over Inertia's shoulder and Thad barely had time to whip around before a fast needle buried itself in his neck. He was out before he'd even hit the floor.

"We're gonna have fun with this one." Savitar leered over the prone form of Inertia.

* * *

Wally whipped around the room, checking cupboards and all sorts of nooks and crannies in the bid to find anybody. He breezed back over to Max and Johnny.

"Nothing. He's either killed President Thawne and run off or something more sinister has happened."

Max brought a hand over his eyes, suddenly looking very old.

"This is messed up." Johnny muttered."

"Pardon me gentlemen, but are you looking for something?"

The three speedsters jerked their heads to gaze upon President Thawne smirking smugly.

"That's him!" Meloni cried and Batman whispered a critical instruction into Max's ear.

"Bring your arm down SLOWLY so I can grab a photo I.D of this guy. He's being brought down."

"About time." Lobo grunted. "I really wanna frag him."

Max did as he was told, pretending to freeze before bringing the arm with the wristwatch down at a slightly slower than normal (normal for him) speed, feigning carefulness. Batman snapped a photo of the unsuspecting President of Earth. Wally let out a startled cry as Savitar stepped into view, roughly holding a struggling Inertia, who cursed himself for having let his guard down. Impulse gave out a weak cry, upset for Inertia.

"Savitar, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were defeated!"

"I was. Or should I say, HE was. I'm Savitar's clone."

"That makes sense. Thawne always had a clone fetish." Thad spat and got a hard smack across the head.

"Shut up, boy."

"I managed to obtain a DNA sample from a drop of the original Savitar's blood. Do you like him? He has some speed, which is an advantage for me. Not so much for you. At last, THIS is my reward! THIS is justice!"

"You sick twerp. How the hell is trying to kill a young kid JUSTICE?" Johnny hissed, crouching a little, itching to grab him by the throat and beat him senseless.

Impulse shivered. He had bad memories with Thawne.

Savitar threw Thaddeus aside and Bart winced, vaguely hearing the heavy thud.

"Let's sort this out the good old-fashioned way."

"I'm inclined to agree with that, mate." Johnny growled and sped towards the ninja clone.

Savitar welcomed the aggressive gesture with a sadistic grin and the two men met in a massive clash that literally sent sparks flying. Wally surged forward to help Johnny deal with the ninja and Max scoured the room for Thawne, seeing him cowering under a table and flew forward to clench his collar tightly. Unknown to him, Thawne pressed a button subtly in his jacket.

Thad went unnoticed. Which was a big mistake.

"Agh!" The kid seized his forehead as a sharp pain whizzed through. He had to get out there and help. Voices whispered an endless chant as Inertia gripped his head in an effort to fight them off and his slanted eyes screwed shut.

"You know who you really belong to…"

"Why aren't you doing anything?"

"He's your enemy boy. Or have you forgotten?"

"You know who you must kill…"

"Do it."

"KILL!"

Inertia froze. His blonde head jerked up suddenly and anyone looking would have seen his yellow orbs coated in a hazy film of purple.

As Max drew back a vengeful fist to punch Thawne's lights out for the terrible things he'd put his young ward through, a verdant and onyx-clad arm wrapped around his head and threw him with pure force across the room, causing him to smash through the opposite concrete wall. Blinking stars covered his sight. Flash paused in subduing Savitar in shock.

"Max!"

Johnny zipped across to Max, helping the elder statesman of speed up off his back.

"What's going on with that kid?" he barked, spotting Inertia blankly striding towards them. "Something's been done to his mind."

Wondergirl gasped as Inertia raised an arm to reveal a knife gleaming dully in the light.

"He's gone rogue again!" Meloni cried and Bart didn't have to ask to know who that was. A feather erupted in his stomach, tickling his insides with fear and panic.

"Inertia, stop! Don't do this!" Superman yelled and despite his health, Impulse made a split-second, reckless decision.

Swaying, he forced himself to hop out of his inviting bed, his frail body screaming in protest.

"Sunshine, what are you doing? You're not well!" his mom chastised and Impulse locked eyes with her, guessing where her face was amongst the coloured blur. They shone with the determination he'd inherited from her and his father.

"I'm sorry Mom…I have…to help Max and…Thad."

There was no chance of Meloni trying to halt him as he gathered up the rest of his strength and tore off, flying through the glowing portal that threw eerie shadows across Mr Miracle's face. Meloni fled into the monitor room in hysterics.

"My son! He's g-gone…in THERE!"

She huddled into Wonderwoman's welcoming arms, sobbing in a raw mother's desperation, pointing at the screen.

"Holy crap Batman…" Nightwing whispered and ill-boding gripped the atmosphere in their minds. All Green Arrow could think of was that Barry Allen would have killed them by now if he'd discovered his grandson gone.

"Please come back alive." muttered Superboy tensely.

Impulse lurched as he neared the source of battle. He felt sicker than ever.

"I'm coming…so please wait…"

* * *

Impulse has made his choice! But what repercussions will it have on everyone else? What will happen to him? Please review!


	16. Death's Door

"**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Chapter 16

This is the battle that will end it all! Will Thawne get what he deserves?

* * *

Death's Door.

Max and Johnny flipped over Inertia's head like world-class gymnasts as they dodged the biting metal of the knife. His sudden change of spirit frightened them – frightened them because they saw what Thawne would truly do to gain himself the advantage. He was using a pawn, little more than a child soldier to be dispensed at a mere whim. He was no better than the other Thawnes.

It could have been Bart Allen.

Speaking of Bart Allen, it seemed like he had just come to join the fun.

"Ah, I knew you would come running! You had to and now I get to watch you die!" Thawne yelled manically, the last vestiges of reason leaving him as well.

Bart had his thin hands on his knees, breathing harshly. The run hadn't done him anymore favours and the poison's effects had been accelerated due to his heart pumping the blood quickly around his little body.

"You can't…do this to him. It's…not fair." The floppy-haired boy answered defiantly, straightening up.

"Get out of here Bart!" Max cried, afraid and Wally looked askance.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

Bart grimaced, partly from the pain, but mostly because he hadn't expected anything else from Wally West.

"Thad, don't do this! C'mon, you gotta fight Grandpa! He doesn't control you anymore, remember?" Impulse's innocent eyes reflected the hope that he could make Inertia snap out of his trance by talking to him.

Shouting at Inertia didn't seem to be working. In fact, it only served to attract his attention as Inertia snapped his head towards the target he'd been seeking in the first place.

"Eep."

Impulse zipped out of harm's way and darted head-first up the wall and on to the ceiling. Trusting the traction on his boots to hold him in place, he panted as he warily watched Inertia grin strangely and start to follow. Impulse shivered as he fled from the cold, harsh stranger chasing him, knowing he couldn't fight now and his vision continued to blur together to form a myriad of intricate brown sludge, dotted with colour here and there. It was kind of pretty…

Impulse swayed stupidly as he tripped, too exhausted (and hallucinating a bit) to stop himself.

His vision suddenly gave out altogether. One minute there had been a flickering of light, the next – inky blackness. Impulse panicked for about two seconds before Thad roundhouse-kicked him from behind. Johnny was on top of the clone in an instant, preventing him from stabbing a bewildered and blind Impulse. The brown-haired boy retched.

"Bart, get out, WE'LL deal with this." Johnny called firmly, but calmly, still struggling with Inertia.

Impulse's legs wobbled as he forced himself up yet again.

"I can't. I'm the only one that can get through to him, don't you get it?"

Never in his life had he ever met anyone more stubborn.

Bart hesitated, and then called out for Inertia.

"I-Inertia? Please tell me…you're there."

Inertia snarled and applied all of his strength into breaking free from Johnny, but the red-head stood firm, wrestling with his arms. Inertia tried Plan B instead.

He twirled round at lightning speed and touched a pressure point on the side of Johnny's temple with seemingly feather-light fingers. Unfortunately, Johnny lolled to the ground as he blacked out.

"Johnny?" Impulse panicked inside, frightened at the sudden silence. Inertia used this golden opportunity to ghost over to his prey. Impulse remembered training that Max had put him through a few weeks ago.

**Back then…**

_"Remember Bart, there may come a time when you're left in the dark – literally. In that scenario, you'll have to use your ears."_

_Bart imagined swinging from building to building in gloomy Gotham with ropes attached to painful, bright red ears. Baffled didn't even begin to describe it._

_Max caught on to Bart incomprehensible face and sighed heavily._

_"In that sort of level, you'd have to learn to listen for your enemy, kick them in the face at the right moment. You have an advantage that you'd be able to trace them using the Speed Force if you were good enough to do so as well."_

_Bart perked up, bubbling immediately. "Cool! Can we start now?"_

_As soon as the words had escaped from his mouth, the lights in the room switched off, leaving Bart stranded._

_"Max? I think we've had a power cut!"_

_"Try and find me Bart!" Max's wise voice teased him from the darkness and Bart clenched his fist in iron resolution._

_"Okay, here I come!"_

_The next few minutes were a source of nightmares for Max, partly because he couldn't see what Bart was smashing and because of the struggle not to roll around on the neutral green carpet in fits of laughter. Impulse blundered round the room, mewling pathetically when his big feet tripped over something. Max shook in the little corner, highly amused. Impulse pulled himself up for the sixth time, glowering at the ceiling, yelping as he banged his knee._

_"I have to do something! I've gotta do whatever it was Max said! Oh yeah - listening! But I'm not like Batman or Superboy… what if I can't hear anything?" Impulse rubbed his soft hair, feeling a solid lump that was already fading as he contemplated, squinting at where he guessed his white trainers were. "I'll try. I can do this."_

_Finishing with his thoughts, Impulse closed his eyes and just froze, keeping as still as he could while the sounds washed over his ears. It was amazing what you could hear when you put your mind to it._

_Bart heard the faint beeping of the washing machine in the kitchen and listened to Dox whining outside in the hallway behind the closed living room door. The hyper boy listened to the buzzing of an irksome fly as it flew round the room, batting at the glass window._

_And he could detect steady breathing coming from the right – hand corner in the living room, just by the exit. But was it Max? Of course it was, he reminded himself. It wouldn't be him over there. Unless it was one of his scouts. He recalled what Max had said about using the Speed Force to find someone._

_But how did you go about that?_

_To stall for time and fool Max, Bart knocked over a pot – plant and the plastic mug on the mahogany coffee table as he reached out and tapped in to the Speed Force, trying not to get distracted. He extended a hand unconsciously, marvelling as he suddenly sensed the thrumming that normally just coursed in his blood in everything! Was this how Wally felt when he took speed from random items? It was difficult to reach into the Speed Force at the best of times, but to try and find Max too…_

_He felt a bit giddy._

_It was that corner again. The inexhaustible amount of Speed Force steaming off this living object was familiar and incredible. Stealthily (or at least quietly), Bart Allen dodged the coffee table and advanced on his mentor. Max sounded concerned as he called; "Bart?"_

_Just as he was about to flip the light back on, fearing that the youngster had somehow knocked himself out, a small, giggling person tackled him in the mid-riff, causing him to fall over on to his behind._

_"Oof!"_

_"Found you!" Impulse cried in a sing-song voice. "AndIusedtheSpeedForceandstuff!"_

_"Wait, you used the Speed Force?" The light came back to life and Max stared down with glittering, wide sapphire eyes._

He could use it, he'd done it before!

Swallowing nausea, Bart hesitantly dipped into his never-ending, but weakened reserve of speed and from there he spread out to the outside world. Overwhelmed for a moment by the amount of speed that flowed in the building, Impulse shivered as he registered the nearest living creature with threatening speed energy pouring out of it.

Inertia.

Cloudy golden eyes wheeled wildly as Impulse reacted with ninja-like reflexes and flung aside, away from the mechanically stabbing arm. Flipping over, Impulse rode into a crouch, sharpening his sense of hearing to detect Inertia's footsteps running flat out towards him. At the last second, Impulse dealt him a blow to the jaw, hearing it crack as he blocked the stabbing arm with his taut right arm. Inertia responded in kind as the silent attacker put his fist to Impulse's stomach. Something hot and wet stirred inside Impulse's gut and gushed out of his mouth. It was practically a tidal wave of cherry liquid.

Max surged forward with an angry cry, but he and the Flash were blocked by Savitar.

"Ah, ah - no interfering!"

Rage radiated off the two speedsters as they fell on him like crazed wolves.

"Max, what's going on? Flash, come in!" Wonderwoman demanded, frantically stabbing at a few buttons. Max however, ignored her pleas and since they couldn't see past the screen on his watch, the Justice League and Young Justice had no idea what was happening.

"We should go in there." Ray growled, glowing brightly and he got ready to make an entrance. Superboy and Lobo were right beside him when Superman said darkly;

"No. It is too dangerous. Besides, no-one else is fast enough to deal with these people."

"We are."

It was like God had specifically answered their prayers. Clothed in their bright costumes, Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick were a welcoming sight for sore eyes.

"We'll go, kids. Just stay here for now." Jay chided and the three boys drooped with disappointment. Adjusting his steel hat, the elder leant into a crouch and bounded away, closely observed and followed by the only female speedster.

"Help my son!" Meloni's pleading voice trailed after them as they worked their way towards the terrible scene that unfolded.

Impulse hacked up more life-giving blood as he fell on to his hands and knees, unable to see the pool that had been formed by the display. Hearing a whistling noise from his right, the weakening boy rolled to his left and sprung up, throwing Inertia straight through the wall with the force of a speeding freight train. His lungs bubbled and his skin burned with the white-hot flames that licked it. So tired…

Inertia shook his blonde head savagely, like an angry Alsatian and homed in for the kill once again.

He couldn't breathe…

Impulse swept Inertia away using a low kick and unleashed a flurry of punches. He dimly listened to Jay's voice as he fought alongside Max and Wally.

"Jesse's coming Bart!"

I don't want her to come… Bart thought hazily. He didn't want Inertia to hurt anyone else!

Quick, light footsteps closed in from the left and Impulse felt the feminine speed energy.

"Jesse…don't come here! He's…kinda crazy right now!" Impulse gasped harshly, dodging another murder attempt by Inertia. The purple film coating his eyes grew thicker.

"What IS this stuff on his eyes?" Jesse wondered out loud as she observed what Impulse did not. She drop-kicked Inertia.

"What? What…stuff?" Impulse replied fitfully, avoiding another swipe. "I…can't see."

"Impulse, I think he's been hypnotised or something." Jesse hurriedly explained and she too was quickly disposed of by a streaking dart to the pressure point on the neck.

"Jesse!" Impulse cried out as he heard her fall, trembling with fear and fever. More thudding footsteps and Impulse flipped high into the air and took off running, putting as much distance between himself and Inertia as possible.

Which wasn't much.

There was nobody left to protect him now. He was alone.

Impulse grit his teeth.

"I'm not gonna die without a fight."

The sudden sharpness of Impulse's punch seemed to startle Thaddeus and the rival hesitated before pummelling Bart with at least fifty punches a second. Impulse couldn't take this punishment in his weakened state and managed to break away, tripping Inertia so he wavered. As he was distracted, Bart sought his chance and unleashed a flurry of attacks of his own. Lightning crackled around the boys as they fought viciously, twisting and almost dancing. Any onlooker would have failed to see nothing more than a blur blotting the landscape. Impulse was thrown to the ground and his head pushed brutally into it, almost suffocating with the grit and sand particles clogging his bleeding nose and mouth. The young hero vibrated out of the deathly grasp and cautiously patted the sandy floor as he rolled away. His suspicions were confirmed as he realised they were now possibly in a desert area. He didn't know what was causing Inertia to act like a psychopath; but he did know it was vital that he snapped him out of this frenzied rage. He spun his arms around, gradually becoming faster until two tornadoes were protruding from his thin shoulders. Inertia couldn't keep a foot hold and was swept violently into a nearby cliff.

"Stop this Inertia! LISTEN TO ME!" Impulse yelled, vibrating his hand and placing it palm-first on the mass of sand granules, causing a giant crack to appear and making debris fly everywhere. Pieces caught Inertia's cheek and tore a few gaping holes in his suit. Impulse was backhanded by one or two chunks and ceased the earthquake.

His body was giving out. He was fading. He felt his time slipping.

"I'm sorry Thad." Bart apologised quietly as he zipped to a stop in front of his rival and grabbed his head with both gloved hands.

If his head was being messed with, then maybe a good shock would help bring Inertia back.

Impulse mumbled a little prayer and drew his head back. His energy reserves were gone now. There was no other choice. Thad struggled and started to vibrate.

No! He couldn't match him now. He was barely standing as the situation escalated anyway. But the shaggy-haired teen was desperate.

Drawing in a gasp, Impulse matched the vibrational frequency - on par with Inertia and shook him roughly.

"Stop!" he commanded sharply in Interlac.

Inertia suddenly complied with this request and pulled back his fist, jeering wickedly.

He was too tired…

Taking the chance, Impulse brought his head crashing down, head-butting the guy who had attempted to take his life many times.

A scream of pain jolted Impulse slightly out of the burst of white stars that had cut through the blackness of his personal night. He reeled away in a trance.

Inertia tottered and thudded to his knees as something small and steel and plastic plopped to the ground from his ear. The violet mist slithered from his gaze and the blonde blinked.

"Wait…"

His eyes travelled to the microchip half-buried in the golden brown sand. Leaning down, Thad picked it up before standing and turning it over in his fingers.

"It's a microchip…he must have been telling me the truth about the control he had over me after all. I AM nothing more than his guard dog." He vividly remembered Thawne's pale blue eyes gleaming manically as he'd squeezed Thad's chin hard enough to make it crack after a failed virtual reality scenario training.

_"I have complete mercy over you…don't go against me, boy. You'll feel the consequences more than you'll feel anything else in your life."_

He'd been correct. It had hurt so much, like someone had deliberately put a flaming match to the nerves in Inertia's brain.

"Where am I?" A glance upwards.

Insides went cold, full of ice.

Impulse lay prone, nearly fully-buried in the sand that had mercilessly shifted to cover up the scandalous truth. Inertia had hurt him AGAIN.

"Bart! BartBartBart, speak to me!" Inertia raced over, sliding to his knees beside Impulse and lifted his head gently out of the sand. The whole body remained limp. Then Inertia saw him properly for the first time in two hours.

Blood ran down from Impulse's eyes, his ears, his nose, his mouth, from under his soft russet hair, matting it into lumpy knots. An arm splayed awkwardly away from him, indicating that it was broken. Gurgled breaths strained from his blocked lungs and partially dry sweat let the sand cake his skin, which had turned ash-grey. One of the acid yellow lenses in his goggles had broken, smashed by Inertia's fists. He must have put them on, coming to save him.

Inertia finally broke – the dam smashed, sending water rushing, pounding on through.

"BART! Bart, comeonlivelivelive! Don't leave me, don't go! I'm sorry, I'llneverdothistoyouagain!" Words tumbled frantically from his mouth, at a speed not understood by speedless humans. Bart's head cradled against his chest, Thad lost it completely and began to cry as he hadn't been capable of before. He continued to murmur at high speed as he rocked back and forth, clutching his brother close, trying to understand.

He was understood.

"Th…ad?"

The hoarse whisper made Inertia's head jerk to stare with horror at sightless golden eyes that flitted wildly to search for him. A torn gloved hand shakily felt his face and clumsily wiped away the salty tears.

"Y…ou're…crying."

"Don't die!" Thad answered and Bart gasped for air, managing a weak, half-hearted smile.

"Trying…please…stay."

"I AM staying. Max and the other speedsters are coming. You will be FINE!" Thad spat out the last word, clinging to the fragile Impulse, to hope.

A raspy gurgle passed through Bart's airways as he nodded.

"I know…"

Inertia saw Impulse struggling to keep awake.

"Keep talking – about anything!"

Bart couldn't help but smile and he murmured something about the fact that he'd beaten Thad to the desert. Thad gave a mock-sigh.

"I guess that means you're faster."

"Uh huh…"

"Do you still have your dog?" Thad searched hurriedly for another topic. Bart shivered and snuggled closer.

"Yeah. I-I'm…cold."

Thad wrapped his arms around Bart tightly and allowed Bart to cling to him. Bart's breathing became more ragged and the fever raged wildly out of control. Eyelids drooped under the weight of trying to stay conscious.

"Where…are we?" he whispered.

"I don't know." Thad's admitted guiltily.

"Doesn't…matter. You're…a good…friend." Dreamily, Bart blinked and shut his eyes.

"Just…for a…mo…ment."

Thad reached out and patted his face, forcing Bart's metallic eyes open.

"Wanna…sleep." he whispered, looking miffed.

"You can't! Not yet or you'll die!" Thad responded forcefully. There was no response and Thad shook his DNA donor's shoulders, noticing the cuts and bruises decorating his skin.

Bart exhaled a final gasp and floated gratefully in his rival's arms, his body slackening.

"BART?" Thad shook the fastest boy alive a little harder, starting to panic and hyperventilate as he registered the image of Bart not breathing. Pressing his ear to Bart's chest, he heard the heart galloping at a hundred miles per hour.

Footsteps quickened their acceleration as the clone child threw back his head and screamed for help.

"He'll be alright Thad." Max prised Bart from Thad's clutching arms, but the yellow-haired boy continued to sob, seemingly unaware of anything else. Johnny helped him up and pulled him into a warm hug.

"Come on. Bart needs you."

* * *

Max laid Bart down in front of Thawne, who was strapped tightly to a chair in the Justice League Tower. Batman and Lobo towered menacingly over him.

"Tell us where the antidote is, coward. Or I'll frag you and you'll be deader than dead." Lobo scowled and cracked his knuckles threateningly. Thawne kept his mouth clamped.

"Lobo, step out of the room for a minute." Batman commanded in his dark voice and Lobo smirked, doing as he was bid.

"What's he saying?" Meloni asked warily, restraining herself from peeking round the door. She couldn't face her father – not after what he had done to her beloved son.

"Don't know but being Batman, he'll have made him crap himself three times over by now." Superboy stated matter-of-factly, making Superman sigh.

"Language Kon-El."

Secret timidly tapped Ray on the shoulder and pointed at Inertia.

"Will he be okay?"

Thad leant listlessly against the unyielding wall, silently staring at his lap, ashamed after his outburst earlier. He was the picture of being lost and vulnerable, especially with his mask off. It hung limply from his left hand.

"I'm not sure Suzie. But I hope so."

The conversation between them was abruptly broken in two by the frightened and agonised yells of Thawne. Inertia continued to gaze, unresponsive to his creator's strong emotions and violent swearing.

"And there is the sweet sound of Batman mentally traumatising someone other than me." Wally sighed happily.

"ALRIGHT! Alright." Thawne snarled in Bart's general direction before pulling out a little crystal vial full to the brim with cerulean liquid. Batman unleashed a Bat glare at full blast before signalling to Max to bring Bart to the sick bay. Max obliged and darted at top speed ahead of the Black Avenger.

"He's dying Bruce. Hurry!" Wally piped up and followed to the observation table, where Batman wasted no time in filling a needle with the antidote and stabbing Impulse in the neck with it.

"Now we wait."

"I can't wait!"

Inertia huffed in the doorway. He looked past the point of exhaustion (a result of the past couple of hectic days) and stumbled clumsily to Bart's side. Max knelt down to his level, speaking calmly and tenderly.

"Thaddeus Thawne, you need to sleep. When was the last time you did that?"

Thad's bottom lip trembled and he lent into his chest. "I-I don't know…"

Meloni gripped his arm firmly as she led him over to a bed in the corner.

"Go to sleep honey. We'll wake you when he comes round."

Shockingly enough, the blonde kid didn't object or try to put up a fight. Instead, he clambered in and was out like a light within seconds.

"He looks thin." Meloni commented in concern. "He needs a home and looking after."

Max nodded heavily. "After all of this is over, he can come and live with me, Helen and Bart."

A weak coughing broke through the thoughtful silence and the adults turned to spy Impulse watching them with exhausted suspicion. The bleeding had ceased and his wounds were starting to heal. He was on the mend.

"My baby…"

"Bart!"

Meloni and Max were overwhelmed with high emotions of love and joy and both of them swept him into their warm arms, laughing as they listened to Impulse giggle with delight.

Batman smiled faintly before leaving in his usual way, trailing no trace of him ever being there. Wally shuffled his feet awkwardly, feeling no connection to this little reunion and getting rather depressed that he wasn't over there with them. Impulse suddenly turned in his direction.

"Wally, where's my hug?"

It seemed his cheekiness was returning as well as his speed.

"Hey watch it you." But he beamed broadly, grabbed him and tickled him, grinning at Bart's infectious laughter.

"Bart…?"

Stepping back, the three adults watched with a lump in their throat as Inertia wandered over to Impulse like a zombie that had seen a ghost.

Impulse smiled gently.

"It's me."

Silence muffled the outside noise and it felt like they were all alone in a bubble of their own creation. Inertia's eyes filled up and Impulse mirrored his reaction. It seemed that he was strong enough to hop out of bed and sweep over to glomp his brother, for that is exactly what he did. Inertia met him halfway, both of the boys burying their faces into their shoulders. Meloni cried at the heart-felt reunion.

"I'm glad you're okay." Impulse said quietly, beaming at the almost identical boy opposite him.

"Me too." Inertia replied shyly and they separated, spying Max heading towards them.

"I think we can go home now. Bart, you're going straight to bed."

"HUH? What'd I do?" Bart's face dropped by a mile and his eyes glittered with mock-horror.

Max laughed heartily.

"It's for resting, young man. You're not fully recovered yet."

He turned quickly to Thad, who was staring awkwardly and blankly out of the window.

"You're going straight to bed too."

Thad eyed him with confusion. "Eh?"

"It's been decided that you can live with me and Bart."

Thad eyed him some more, now shocked and awed. For the first time in his life, he felt wanted…loved.

"R-really?"

Meloni put a motherly hand on his chest, where his heart thrummed strongly.

"Really. I can't ask you and Bart to come back with me because you are both so settled in this timeline now – Bart more than you at the moment. But I still love Bart and I've come to love you too. I'll visit as often as I can."

Thad timidly touched her hand with his own and they remained like that for a moment, gazing at each other. Then Bart threw himself between them both and hugged his mother, nuzzling into her as tightly as he could.

"I'm gonna miss you, Mom."

"Me too, Sunshine." She squeezed her brown eyes shut, letting a tear fall. Then she drew Thad in with them and christened him with his first nick-name.

"You too, Storm."

Thad didn't need to ask why.

* * *

That is the second to last chapter finally finished. Please tell me what you think.


	17. Bright End

**Impulse and Inertia – First Step.**

Epilogue

Here we are; the final chapter! It's been a long road for our heroes, but they're finally warm and safe. I might make a sequel to this – who knows? For now, thank you to all of my readers and enjoy the last chapter. Please review.

* * *

Bright End.

As soon as he had heard about the apparent "victory of the Allens", President Thawne had lost it, losing the will to carry on, and taking out the gun from inside his jacket pocket, he placed it to his temple and pulled the trigger, effectively committing suicide. Thad had been shocked at the news but not really sorry while Meloni cried from the sheer suddenness of her father's death.

Kissing both boys goodbye for the last time until she came to cheerfully visit once again, Meloni departed back to her future, where she would have to make arrangements on who Thawne's successor should be. Bart glanced over at his twin.

"So...what do we do now?"

Max appeared from behind and placed a fatherly hand on their slim shoulders, the portal's fading light making him seem slightly ghostly.

"We go home and resume what we were doing before."

Thad's sunny eyes gleamed with anticipation and childish excitement.

"I can't wait."

* * *

"Dad!"

Helen flung her skinny arms around her father's thick neck, kissing him on both cheeks at least two times. Max smiled and embraced her warmly.

"We're home my dear. Bart came through."

"I knew he would!" Helen swooped upon Bart as well, ignoring his squirming and grunts of discomfort, though he was secretly pleased.

"Thad is living with us now." Max said, a guarded expression on his lined face. Helen turned her big sapphire eyes on to Thad for a moment and studied him with an inscrutable expression. Thad shifted nervously. Then she pulled him into a hug.

"At least I won't have to worry about telling YOU to clean your room!" she laughed and Thad grinned.

He looked so much nicer now in Bart's opinion.

"Hey Thad, wanna check out your room?"

"Sure. Don't be too slow or you might lose to me – again."

"Whaddya mean AGAIN? It's on!"

With that, both teenagers had gone, racing each other to Inertia's new room.

"Boys, no running in - !" Max began to scold and then stopped and exhaled when he spotted Helen's amused features.

"Oh leave it for today Dad. They've been through a lot."

"You're right. Let's make a nice, quiet cup of coffee."

"I'll drink to that."

* * *

"D'you like it?"

Thad stared at the ample sized room with the shale grey carpet and glossy white walls. A bed rested against the wall in the middle of the room, with the bottom of it facing east and it begged to be slept in. Plenty of light reached the inside of the room from the bay window facing north. It looked like a quiet, restful haven.

He loved it.

"Yes...it's amazing."

Bart plopped on the edge of the bed, fiddling restlessly with the poppy-red quilt cover.

"Um...can we talk?"

The boy peeked shyly out with wide, lash-framed golden orbs from underneath his floppy russet bangs. He had mastered the cute kitten look, though probably not on purpose. Thad mulled this over as he reluctantly agreed and sat on the floor by his brother's legs. Peering up through his goggles he asked Bart what was on his mind.

"Well...I'm kinda worried about you still. Not in the bad 'I don't trust you!' kind of way, because I KNOW I can trust you now and I hope you trust me. I'm worried 'bout how you're FEELING. You don't tell anyone anything like that and I wanna know 'cause...err...I just do." Bart twitched his thumbs. "That sounded lame."

Thad's voice was thick, like someone had poured treacle down his throat, when he answered.

"That's ... really nice of you Bart. Nobody has ever said anything like that to me before and I'm feeling pretty relieved. I can finally say that my life is adequate and that I am able to start a new life for myself. I can't get over the pain though, at least, not yet. But I do have one question." Here he paused to peel off his mask and place it carefully on the floor.

"Go on."

"Why do you let me live with you?"

A heartbeat of silence.

"Max invited you to live with us. And I want you to. We could be a great family! And if there's ONE thing I've learnt from Max, it's that family doesn't always mean the one you're born into – it's the people who love you the most."

More silence followed Impulse's little sermon as Inertia rolled it over in his frazzled mind.

"You are hinting that Max asked me to live with you because he cared?"

"Uh-huh. We all do."

"Oh." It seemed sad that Thad reacted with bewilderment. Bart beamed down at his new-found sibling and after a second's hesitation, Thad smiled awkwardly back. It would take a while for the blonde to get used to smiling.

"...I love Max."

"That's good. You're gonna be a great superhero." Bart nodded virtuously.

"I love Helen and Ivan too."

"That's cool, 'cause Helen needs another helper and his name is Dox." Bart sped along, scowling at the name Thad had called his beloved dog.

"Dox? Really? That's...stupid." Thad made a face.

"Is not." Bart poked out his tongue and crossed his arms rebelliously.

"You are so immature, it's hard to believe we're sharing the same genes, let alone the same house." Thad commented dryly.

Bart waggled his feet together and simply rolled his honey eyes.

"...And I...I love you too Bart. As a brother, I mean." Thad said this last sentence slowly and uncertainly, unsure if he should say it – and if he actually meant it.

The next minute proved his warm feelings as Bart scrambled down to glomp Thaddeus all over again, eyes glowing with joy, reminding Thad of the sun.

"I knew you cared! I love you too, twin brother!"

No wonder the kid was so lovable.

The two males stayed like that for a long time, sharing their companionship happily. They were so happy to be part of a family and Thad's chest swelled with heat.

He finally desired to live once more.

* * *

Sometime later, Max and Helen came hunting for the pair to acquire their assistance in the cooking of dinner and discovered them both sleeping on top of Thad's bed, curled up side by side like a pair of cats. They faced each other and their faces were slack and peaceful, so innocent in their dreams. Dox lay with his tufty tail thumping the bed at their feet.

"Oh look Max, they're dreaming." Helen cooed softly, her eyes gentle and delighted. Max gave no response and carefully closed the light door.

"They can stay there tonight; have a night off."

He was so proud of his boys, more than they would ever know.

In the darkening room, two brothers dozed by each other, blissfully unaware of the outside world and the destinies that bowed before their feet.

All that mattered was that they had each other.

* * *

That's it! It's finished! It's been a rollercoaster and I hope you enjoyed and review.


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